Youngsters join in an environmental protection program in Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily]

After every weekend, Nyima Dbangmo holds a plastic bag of trash, such as used water bottles, as she returns to school from home.

The garbage collected by the 14-year-old basically paid for her stationery items last semester, from pencils to notebooks, she says.

"It is habitual for us to pick up the garbage from the ground."

Since last March, a program called "Garbage for Stationery" has improved the campus environment and enhanced students' awareness of the environment in six middle schools in Zadoi county along with ecology and environment protection classes.