With more than 7 tones of WEEE collected until 1st March, the agents of the Recycling Patrol from Izbiceni School (Olt county) might fill about 2 classrooms. Imagine how much space they cleared in their parents’, neighbors’ and friends’ households by convincing them to get rid of old electric appliances.
Their coordinating teacher, Mr. Rudolf Kuttesch revealed some of the tactics they used to mobilize the community. They started by watching educational movies about electrical waste recycling. They went through the content of the brochures and debated upon each of the topics presented. The recycling patrol was formed by pupils from every classroom.
“Students from my class keep in touch with their colleagues from other classes on a daily basis.” sais Mr. Kuttesch. “We designed our own informative flyers that the agents of the Patrol distributed to their fellow citizens on several Sundays, in the town’s markets. We used the cable TV and word of mouth, as our pupils went knocking door to door.”
They set themselves a high goal and committed, from the beginning, to collect several tones of WEEE, even though they aren’t a big community. One more important thing: they have lots of fun carrying out creative activities on environmental themes coordinated by Mr. Kuttesch, a professor of plastic arts.
“In 37 years of teaching, I concluded that the greatest motivation for students (in any kind of action), are personal example, open debate, consistency and perseverance in developing the project. I have pupils who, with the help of their parents, have collected on their own more than 900 kg of WEEE.”
We know that coordinating teachers and agents of the Recycling Patrol throughout the country prove the same level of commitment and willingness to go the extra mile. This is how we succeeded to collect 64,400 kg of WEEE so far, an achievement we all deserve to enjoy. Now, that you saw what you are capable of, dare to dream big! We can’t wait to announce that the Recycling Patrol has collected more than 100 tones of WEEE!
We count on the coordinating teachers to post on Facebook or send us the stories, creations, poems and movies of their Patrols! By sharing your experiences and communicating like a real ‘national team’, you will improve your results in collecting WEEE and encourage communities to become more responsible towards nature.