This 10 years old Indian Environment and Climate Activist Licypriya Kangujam is all set to enter the Guinness World Record Book after spelling out a sentence with 6,056 plastic bottles.
It took Licypriya 9.02 minutes to arrange the plastic bottles to create the message “Save our Planet and our future” with the support of the student at Ryan International School, Noida Extension and her little sister Irina Kangujam.
Guinness World Records has yet to verify the total, current record is 3,325 bottles, achieved in Berkshire, UK by St Edward Prep School, in February 2022. The record is measured on the total number of water bottles.
Licypriya & sister have collected all these bottles from hotels, restaurants and people through her Plastic Money Shop.
Plastic Money Shop is an initiative of her where people can take free 2 kg of rice or a sapling or any school stationery items by bringing 1 kg of single used plastic waste. And the collected waste is used to make school benches, house roof sheets, road tiles, etc. The mission is to eliminate single used plastic waste from our planet.
The slogan was suggested by Licypriya Kangujam and was then voted on by the whole school. Principal Seema Kasumra said that Licypriya and other students were keen to make a “statement” about climate change and the plastic pollution.
Licypriya said, “Guinness World Record attempt is just an initiative by me with the support of the school to send a strong message on the global plastic pollution crisis. It’s not about just breaking a world record; we’re fighting one of the biggest problems of our time: the climate change and the plastic pollution crisis”.
“I am representing the voice of millions of children and millions of countless voiceless animals. I trust our little efforts can help to reduce the plastic pollution crisis in my country. I am a child who strongly believes that children can lead the change.”
India alone produces about 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. Plastic pollution adversely affects our ecosystems and is also linked to air pollution.
Whatever we buy or eat, it is packed in a single used plastic and ends up in a landfill or lake or rivers and finally in the ocean. Not just affecting our health and environment, animals are dying due to this plastic pollution crisis.
“We must reduce our plastic consumption at home. Reducing plastic consumption will reduce plastic pollution. This is the time to wake up. This is the time to open up our eyes. Our little things can make a huge difference. We are unstoppable and another world is possible”, she told the students.