Needs & Wants

Most cities and rural areas are developing rapidly; hence there is also a rapid growth in consumption of resources. While this is especially happening in our cities, villages too are increasingly following the same path.

1. However, the ease and convenient availability of resources leads to
2. haphazard consumption, especially of disposable plastics. This activity
3. aims to differentiate between the needs and wants of disposable plastic
4. products, some of which may not be necessary but are bought anyway.
5. 1. The facilitator should introduce participants to the concept of
6. sustainable consumption and its importance.
7. 2. The facilitator should discuss with the participants the difference
8. between necessary, long term plastic products and disposable
9. ones.
10. 3. The facilitator should ask each participant to prepare a personal
11. household consumption checklist using the exemplar sheet
12. provided.
13. 4. In groups, the young people should then prepare a consolidated list
14. using their personal consumption checklists.
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16.  
17. The facilitator should ask the groups to share their consumption
18. checklist with another group of young people in the meeting.
19. 6. Each group will come forward and share their list.
20. 7. The facilitator should discuss how choice of products, packaging,
21. usage, etc contribute to the differences in the lists arrived.
22. 8. Following the discussion, the facilitator should provide the
23. Reflection and Action Worksheet to each participant.
24. 9. The facilitator should randomly ask a few participants to share
25. what they have written in these sheets with the other young
26. people.
27. 10. Conclusion: young people would understand their household
28. consumption patterns of plastic products and products with plastic
29. packaging. They would conclude that certain disposable plastics are
30. completely avoidable.
31. 11. Evaluation: young people can be asked to suggest alternatives to
32. disposable plastics use.