Children can save the Earth!

This is already known. If we, adults, are too busy, or give too little attention to environmental protection activities, we still have a chance

July 2012 - From the Print Edition

Children are dedicated and involved in environmental campaigns, pay attention to what happens around them and they will teach us how to change our attitude. When they believe in what they do, our children become our role models.
The Recycling Patrol is a project of the Romanian Association for Recycling - RoRec in partnership with municipalities and the School District of municipalities and localities where RoRec is implementing electrical waste collection campaigns (WEEE), in order to create a coherent collection infrastructure of this type of waste. The Recycling Patrol is developed as a program of environmental education in schools, developed to help achieve the waste collection quantitative targets imposed by European standards, namely the 4 kg / inhabitant per year.
What is the motivation for Recycling Patrol agents? “Recycling Patrol is a group of children who are trained to recycle,” says Alex, 5 years old, Patrol Agent in Timisoara. “If we did not make this effort, I could not breathe,” says Luminita seven years, in Calarasi. “We help the environment,” says another Alex, 12 years, Patrol Agent in recycling, in Bistrita, “because people polluted and now they have to clean.” “If we have an old battery or bulb, we bring them here at school, and put them in these containers for collection”, says Lavinia, agent in Hunedoara, 14 years.
Like them are over 20,000 registered volunteers in over 200 schools in the country in the 2012-1013 edition of the project.
It might be a game for them, a drawing, one hour of education in environmental protection. In reality they do important things in our place. In adult language, the Recycling Patrol is a community empowerment project. By following the examples of children, adults become more aware of their environment and that of their children.
The most visible effect of the campaign was that parents and communities around the schools have learned about this project and have actively contributed to the success of the program. Through this program, the organizers provide an accessible education system, simple, aimed to encourage the habit of selective collection of electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE). The program helps students understand some of the causes of environmental pollution and makes them realize that it’s reduction depends on each of us.
If you had any doubt that children have a great power - even to educate us adults - now you can rest assured that they will change the world!
At the end of the “Recycling Patrol” Program conducted by the RoRec Association, with participation from school inspectorates and municipalities in seven counties in Romania, the average collection per pupil involved in the program was 2.47 kg WEEE, while the national collection rate is somewhere under 1 kilogram / per capita!
Basically what patrol agents did was to engage in activities to promote family and community projects in order to stimulate the collection of electrical waste. Coordinating teachers created fun educational activities with children, through which they understood the dangers that nature is exposed to when a TV or refrigerator is not properly recycled.
Of 206 schools, 54 have reported their own creative projects or have promoted the collection and 24 teams have made proposals for the next edition’s poster. Children were able to collect in less than five months a total of 42,000 kilograms of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and for their involvement, generous sponsors - Indesit and Philips - founding members of the association, offered prizes.
At national level, the categories of awards were aimed at the largest amount collected / student (for which an audio-video laboratory equipment was offered), the most active teacher (who received a micro hi-fi system) and the best poster proposal (awarded with an LCD), which challenged the most creative participants to help design the future edition poster of the Recycling Patrol program, which will debut this fall.
The Sports High School Bistrita was the institution that collected the largest amount/recycling Patrol member in the country, with 205.4 kg of waste electrical and electronic equipment collected during the program. The most active coordinator teacher, at national level, was Mrs. Teodora Popescu (Centre for Inclusive Education School No.1 Bistrita). Special Jury Prize, named after assessing and evaluating 24 proposals for poster was awarded to the team of the Center for Inclusive Education School No. 1 in Bistrita.
Calarasi is the county with the largest amount collected of the program, with about 9000 kg of WEEE collected. Individually, classes I-VIII School George Emil Palade of Ploiesti was the winner, out of the 206 institutions included in the program, by collecting a huge amount of WEEE - 2596.6 kg. Timis County, already familiar with program directions, because the pilot project was conducted in the county in 2011, scored in the contest over 30 projects.
Teodora Popescu, recycling coordinating professor at the Center for Inclusive Education School No.1 Bistrita, winner of the Special Jury Prize for the poster said: << For us, the “Recycling Patrol” initiated by RoRec, was a novel approach and a motivation to learn about the environment and to act in an environmentally friendly spirit. I was actively engaged in all project phases. I was present and fully involved. How? By collecting ... creating games, organizing trips, through poems, drawings, films ... things that are enjoyable. Videos, exciting computer games, specific poems, coloring books, brochures, kits and many attractive ideas online - all have been provided by the organizers of the “Recycling Patrol”. And we have benefited greatly from this background, educational and formative. (...)
At the award ceremony I proudly wore the badge of membership in “Recycling Patrol”. Students from other schools that collected a large amount of waste were also present, students who understand, like us, that now is “The Time for Recycling”, that the Earths Health is up to each of us.
We are confident that next year, we will watch, on the LCD we won, footage of beautiful actions developed by many more members of the “Recycling Patrol” across the country. Get involved alongside us! Until then, current and future colleagues of the “Recycling Patrol”, I wish you “a nice vacation”!