The beginning of the separate collection of recyclable materials for students in the 2nd sector of the Capital is a project implemented by ASAP (Army of careful selection of plastic) and co-financed by the City Hall of the 2nd sector.

Start the game! Sector 2 schools are involved in the action of separate garbage collectionPhoto: ASAP Romania

This campaign is an educational and awareness campaign among the students of Sector 2, through which they, along with their teachers and parents, learn how through small gestures they can protect the environment and contribute to a greener future.

As part of this broad campaign, a separate garbage collection contest is also being held until October 21. The educational institution that manages to collect the largest amount of recyclable materials will be awarded. The award for excellence consists in equipping the educational unit with photovoltaic panels and the necessary infrastructure for their use.

The concrete results of the efforts of the involved students can be followed on the social media pages of ASAP Romania, www.instagram.com/asap_romania/ and www.facebook.com/ArmataSelectariiAtenteaPlasticului, where they will be periodically updated. Winners will be announced on October 31, 2022.

This is the first time that an education and awareness campaign of this scale has been carried out in Sector 2, with ASAP aiming to reach at least 52 educational units, collect more than 10 tons of recyclable waste, educate more than 35,000 students. , drawing attention to the topic of recycling and informing more than 100,000 people from the general public about the project.

“We aim to reach the youth through the ASAP program as they are the future citizens of this planet and will enjoy the results of the new vision of waste management. The main goal of the “Start Joc!” campaign dedicated to students of sector 2 is to educate responsible and sustainable behavior in relation to the environment. A pilot project in Sector 6 involving 68 schools had a positive impact, prompting us to scale it up across the country. Sector 2 schools’ initiative to join our project”– said Michaela Tutunaru, coordinator of the ASAP program.

The ASAP program, a social responsibility initiative initiated by the Foundation of the Institute, aims to develop a unique set of new tools available to school administrators through individualized training to implement an integrated waste management system (for waste categories – paper/cardboard, plastic, metal, glass). in educational institutions. Thus, in addition to the proposed prize, the beneficiaries of the competition are all students, teachers and administrative staff of schools who, by participating in this program, learn about waste management and have access to the modern infrastructure necessary for the process of separate collection. . And last but not least: the entire community of Sector 2 of the capital will have another way to send as much waste as possible for recycling.

The ASAP campaign is an educational campaign with the aim of proper waste management, following the principles of the circular economy (reducing the carbon footprint, responsible use of resources, proper waste management) and reducing public costs through the utilization of waste by sending it to storage.

So far, ASAP’s results are pleasing. In the first quarter of 2022, more than 120,000 students across the country collected 1,664 tons of recyclable materials. Thus, in the first half of the year, more than 230 educational institutions from all over the country became active partners of ASAP, forming the most extensive plastic collection and recycling network in Romania.

“The average indicator of 13 kg of waste collected per student in the first quarter of the year gives us optimism and faith that the younger generation will be more responsible for the environment. Our efforts focus on educating and guiding young people, as well as teachers and administrative staff, because the school is the pillar of society and, we hope, the epicenter of change. A greener future starts today. I wish success to the students and schools participating in the campaign”– said Raul Pop, program manager of ECOTECA, an ASAP partner.

To date, 4 sectors of the capital and 23 cities and district centers have joined the ASAP mission and, through local authorities and school inspectorates, are actively supporting educational units in their territory to implement a functional infrastructure for separate collection and recycling from plastic. ASAP program Giurgiu, Tulcea, Baia Mare, Piatra Neamts, Buzeu, Magurele – and in sectors 1, 2, 3 and 6 of Bucharest.

More than 550,000 students from nearly 1,000 educational institutions in cities that have joined the initiative are already actively contributing to a plastic-free world.

Those who want to contribute to the “greening” of schools in Romania and want to support the fight for less plastic can sign the petition initiated by ASAP: https://asap-romania.ro/petitie, while all educational institutions are invited to join of the ASAP national program.

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Media partners: Rock FM, Hotnews, Sustainability Embassy