'Swachh Toycathon', a unique competition to make toys out of ‘waste’

This competition is being launched under the 'Swachh Amrit Mahotsav', a fortnight of activities to galvanize action around Swachhata from September 17, Seva Diwas, till October 2, Swachhata Diwas. Secretary, MoHUA, Manoj Joshi launched the Swachh Toycathon by unveiling the online platform on MyGov portal and releasing the toolkit.

New Delhi:The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs on Monday launched a competition 'Swachh Toycathon' aiming to explore solutions for use of waste in the creation or manufacturing of toys in lieu of PM Narendra Modi's vision of creating an eco-friendly toy industry. Under the National Action Plan for Toys, it launched Swachh Toycathon, a competition for new ideas to transform waste into toys.

This competition is being launched under the 'Swachh Amrit Mahotsav', a fortnight of activities to galvanize action around Swachhata from September 17, Seva Diwas, till October 2, Swachhata Diwas. Secretary, MoHUA, Manoj Joshi launched the Swachh Toycathon by unveiling the online platform on MyGov portal and releasing the toolkit.

"Speaking on the occasion, Manoj Joshi urged the creative minds to come up with innovative solutions that meet the growing demand for toys on one hand and address the impacts of the solid-waste on the other." Prof. Uday Athvankar, Prof. Manish Jain from IIT Gandhinagar, and Vidyun Goel from Toy Bank spoke about toy-games design, cognitive science, and their views on the effect of the initiative on the toy industry during the occasion.

Speaking on the framework of Swachh Toycathon, Joint Secretary, MoHUA, Roopa Mishra emphasised the comprehensive approach being covered in the initiative as well as the way forward after the competition. She presented the toolkit of the competition that detailed the modalities of participation.

The Swachh Toycathon is a national competition for individuals and groups. It is based on three broad themes including 'Fun and Learn' which seeks ideas for design and an early prototype of toys from waste at home, workplace and surroundings, 'Use and Enjoy' which seeks ideas for design and models of games and play in the park/open spaces made from waste and 'New and Old' that seeks ideas and solutions for circularity in the toy industry.

The competition 'Swatch Toycathon' seeks entries of designs of toys and play zones using waste and recycled material, prototypes of eco-friendly toys and packaging, and other innovative ideas rethinking the toy industry.