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Usa la basura, Argentina & Germany

The objective is to create environmental awareness in the school community and to implement a responsible waste management system according to the 3R concept: Reduce - Reuse - Recycle.

03.07.2017
Usa la basura
© Usa la basura

Project name: sa la basura! Environmental education & Waste management at schools

Project location: Argentina & Germany

Website: http://www.manos-verdes.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fundacionmanosverdes

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fundmanosverdes

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/manosverdes_ARG

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Project description:

Usa la basura / Use the Waste is a program for environmental education and integrated municipal solid waste management. Since 2009 the program has been implemented in more than 30 public and private schools and 12 municipalities in Argentina and since 2015 also in Germany. Our team works with all educative levels - from kindergarten and elementary school to high school and vocational training schools.

The objective is to create environmental awareness in the school community and to implement a responsible waste management system according to the 3R concept: Reduce - Reuse - Recycle. Principal theme of the program is to train the teachers and administrative staff of the schools about basic environmental education concepts and introduce them to integrated waste management concepts.
Furthermore we connect the schools with local recollection services, such as cooperatives and public or private companies, in order to close the cycle and ensure the correct treatment of the recyclable materials by the recycling industry. We always work together with the local municipalities (like Vicente López and San Isidro in Buenos Aires Province) where the schools are located, to ensure a mid- and longterm functioning of the program and to add this task also to the local political agenda.

Our latest project was the implementation of the program in the heart of the wetlands of the Esteros de Iberá in Corrientes Province in the North of Argentina. The village of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini with its 1.000 inhabitants is a well-known eco-tourism destination, receiving up to 30.000 international tourists per year. Until 2013 the only treatment they had was burning their household waste on an uncontrolled dumpsite. Now, 4 years later, the village is a positive example for their integrated waste management system, owning a waste classification plant and reduced the burning to 0. The program should now be implemented also in other villages of the wetlands of the Esteros de Ibera, which soon becomes a National Park.

2 years ago we also founded Manos Verdes in Augsburg, Germany and started the program of "Usa la basura" - we kept the Spanish name - in local schools in Augsburg, in order to fresh up the know how about waste separation, and work in the topic of responsible consumption.

Usa la basura
© Usa la basura

Goal and purpose of the project:

  • Generate environmental consciousness
  • Change consumer habits for a more sustainable and responsible consumption
  • Capacity building for teachers and administrative staff at schools and municipalities
  • Implement integrated waste management systems
  • Promote a circular economy, driven by social innovation and inclusion
  • Share experiences and publish best practice cases on the online platform www.usalabasura.org
Usa la basura
© Usa la basura

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

Act local - think global! The motivation of our German-Argentine team is to think global and to generate a positive change in our society regarding a more responsible consumption and use of our natural resources on a local level:

  • We love to motivate especially the youngest of our society, to contribute with creative ideas, personal involvement and positive actions for a more sustainable world. Waste is a reflection of our consumer driven society, but it can be reduced, reused or recycled.
  • We encourage people to rethink their consumer habits in our daily lives.
  • We work together with universities and public and private companies in order to promote the redesign of products and materials.
  • We build up international networks to exchange know-how and technologies.
  • We help schools and municipalities to train their staff, motivate the neighbors, organize and implement waste separation systems and to close the waste management cycle on a local level.
  • We communicate on our online-platform www.usalabasura.org know-how best practice cases and practical experiences.
     

Use of prize money:

  • To relaunch our website www.usalabasura.org with new interactive media tools and to translate the online platform into other languages (first English and German).
  • To build up a team of professionals to be able to expand our program to more municipalities and provinces of Argentina and other countries.
  • To establish a certificate for schools, municipalities and businesses participating in the program.