Come and Recycle! - fourth meeting
Come and Recycle! - fourth meeting
The fourth meeting of the Come and Recycle project was held in the spirit of ZERO WASTE. Many of us have heard about this topic, but only a few have truly adopted its practical recommendations. Yet it's really simple! Instead of plastic bags for one or two uses, it's more ecological to take a canvas bag, into which we can calmly put vegetables without putting them separately into plastic bags. Instead of buying mineral water in PET bottles, we can prepare lemon water at home and carry our own bottle, for example, made of glass. In addition to protecting the planet, one can often save a lot of money.
Therefore, a fundamental step forward must be taken and some recommendations must be adopted. It will probably captivate a person so much that they will start seeking out other eco-habits on their own. This way, they can easily reduce their carbon footprint and, ultimately, improve their physical, mental, and financial health :)
After an introductory presentation of our organization, the European Solidarity Corps, and the rules and functions of Zoom, we started an activity via Mentimeter. To test our participants' knowledge, we asked them what they already knew about the concept of zero waste.
The most dominant answer - life without waste - alternated with the words thrift, minimization, or the effort for a fundamental reduction of waste. Each of us imagines something different under the words zero waste: for some, it is an absolute zero in waste generation, for others, it means that they will limit the purchase of plastics or new clothing. The principle, however, is the realization of the need to preserve our planet. Then we look at every new PET bottle completely differently.
The fourth meeting was different from the previous ones. We had the Košice packaging-free shop called Košická špajza, which was presented to us by its owners Lukáš and Vladka Majerníkovci. They initiated us into the topic of zero waste, provided us with tips on how to reduce our production, and later revealed a lot of interesting facts from their business life and especially their journey to opening the shop. They motivated us and our 65 participants to establish their own packaging-free shop. There are only 45 of them in the whole of Slovakia! This means only one thing: there is huge room for growth, and such "Košice pantries" will hopefully multiply like mushrooms after rain.
The meeting was primarily attended by young people, mostly aged 15 to 19, most of whom came from our partner schools - Gymnázium Park mládeže 5 in Košice, Gymnázium Poštová 9 in Košice, and Gymnázium Konštantínova 2 in Prešov. We are very pleased with their interest, because they were our target group, which needs to be educated. It is precisely they who will build the future of our planet. And as a bonus, several participants wrote to us that they noticed us on FB and our personal Instagram stories.
At the end of the meeting, we managed one more activity, this time via Jam board. There were so many participants that not everyone could connect :)
We were interested in what they took away from the lecture and asked them - How can we reduce our production?
The answers were diverse, and we are convinced that the participants will be inspired by them and will apply them in reality.
After the Jam board, we did a quiz via Kahoot! The winner received a great book on the topic of zero waste.
We also created a platform for our participants, where they can find the presentation and individual shots from this meeting. So they can go through everything again, and if they happen to forget something, they can quickly find it again.
With this, we would like to thank the partners of this meeting once again:
Košická Špajza, presented by Lukáš and Vladka Majerníkovci,
Gymnázium Park mládeže 5 in Košice,
Gymnázium Poštová 9 in Košice,
Gymnázium Konštantínova 5 in Prešov.
The education is supported by the European Solidarity Corps program, administered by IUVENTA - Slovak Youth Institute.
