TCE organises cyclothon to emphasize importance of recycling

TCE Cyclothon 2024 - Pedal for a Purpose, a cyclothon event was conducted by Thiagarajar College of Engineering here on Sunday. 

It was held to emphasise on the importance of recycling with the message ‘cycle to recycle.’ The event was conducted under two categories – kids and adults.  

The event also promoted the need for a green environment, said the organisers.  

Recycling, which was a process of converting waste into new, usable products, would benefit the environment, community and the economy at large, they said.  

“Recycling conserves natural resources, mitigates climate change, prevents pollution and preserves energy. The process involves collection, manufacturing new products and purchasing recycled items,” they added.  

The theme found its inspiration from R.Vasudevan, a faculty of the institute and a Padma Shri awardee, who was instrumental in creating plausible ways to reuse plastics. Out of his efforts, roads were laid on the college campus using plastic waste, organisers noted. 

“Reuse of waste plastics in road construction is a suitable solution for the disposal of waste in an eco-friendly way and thus avoiding the pollution created by the plastics in the environment,” they added.  

But the current practice that of plastic waste being either land filled or incinerated were said to be harmful to nature.

Recycling along with cycling could deliver a positive and healthy message as both when practiced effectively would yield plenty of benefits to both nature and humans, they added.  

As cycling was barely practiced now, the health benefits of this physical activity has not reached the younger generation. 

The event was open to men and women of all ages as well as children aged 12-18. The cyclothon covered a 21 km track starting from TCE. About 450 participants rode the cycle with the message of recycling.  

Madurai City Police Commissioner J. Loganathan and Corporation Commissioner C. Dinesh Kumar flagged of the events.  

District Collector M.S. Sangeetha felicitated the participants and spoke about the importance of conducting such cycling events frequently to spread awareness of health benefits of cycling.  

K. Hari Thiagarajan, Chairman, TCE, said, the last cycling event which was conducted in 2020 created awareness of breast cancer among women.  

“The second cycling event conducted this year focuses on bringing to the fore the need for recycling waste particularly plastic in the existing scenario of environmental degradation experienced by us in our everyday life,” he added.  

Published - October 06, 2024 06:41 pm IST