Be brave – help us fight the plastic wave: Getting aware of plastics Erasmus Project

Project Title

Be brave – help us fight the plastic wave: Getting aware of plastics

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

Many young people are concerned about the condition of our planet. Up to now, there has often been a lack of (time) options at school, in which pupils can learn about environmental issues in class and how they can contribute to the environment. Therefore, with the Erasmus + project “Getting aware of plastics” we want to meet this need and address an environmental problem, the use and disposal of plastics, and make it our central project topic. The focus is on pollution from plastic waste. The pupils should deal intensely with the role of plastics in our lives so that, as an informed citizen, they can adopt a responsible attitude towards the environment. The European dimension is derived, on the one hand, from the fact that the sustainable use of plastics cannot be tackled on a national basis, but that plastic waste is a global problem for which the affluent EUsociety bears particular responsibility and should act together as a community of states. An important European legal basis for this is the one-way plastic directive issued in May 2019. In direct comparison with their European project partners, the pupils can assess the different national implementations and, if possible, use them for their own actions.

This includes acquiring background knowledge about the increasing use of plastic articles in the past two decades and their serious effects on our ecosystem. The students should be clear about the high plastic consumption and consider which plastic items are necessary and in which areas other materials can be used. In addition, the handling of plastic waste will be examined more closely and we should be aware of our direct responsibility for it. The aim of the project is to raise the awareness of the participating students and teachers about the immense problems that plastic represents for our ecosystem and to recognize their own responsibility for this problem and the resulting active commitment to less to zero plastic consumption.

With the exception of the German school in Speyer, the schools participating in the project are all schools which, due to their proximity to the sea, experience directly how harmful plastic waste is to the marine ecosystem. With the Rhine, Speyer lies on a large tributary river, through which a large part of the waste also reaches the sea and from which the effects of plastic waste on the environment can also be seen. All five schools intend to involve pupils aged between 16-18 years in the project. Five pupils and two teachers will travel to the respective project meetings in Germany, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Greece. The students are accommodated in host families.

The students will carry out a variety of activities related to plastic. There will be workshops to generate knowledge on the economic aspects of plastic use. The pupils will see films or film clips of the pollution of the rivers and seas. They will collect, sort and display plastic waste for the “school family”, but also creatively convert it into art objects. They will keep plastic diaries and use the “My little plastic footprint” app to create their own plastic footprint. They will also find out about waste separation and waste disposal on excursions to the waste management yard and visit a manufacturer of plastic bottles made from recycled plastic. There will also be discussions with local / national politicians and young people from the Fridays for Future Organization.

Cooperation with external partners is possible at all five school locations. In this way, the pupils have access to scientific educational institutions that focus on the effects of plastic on our environment and thus also on ourselves. In Speyer there is an opportunity to cooperate with SeaLife, which for us is a particularly attractive location for the results of this project. First and foremost, the presentation of “art objects” made of plastic waste is possible there, but also motivational videos for a more sustainable use of plastic articles can be shown to the visitors.

At all participating schools, the topic can be built into the curriculum of the participating classes and made available to further classes in the form of teaching material. The schools hope to use plastic more sustainably at their own school and beyond.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 146850 Eur

Project Coordinator

Johann-Joachim-Becher-Schule Berufsbildende Schule Speyer & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Parede
• Pomorska skola
• IIS “E. De Nicola”
• 2 EPAL KAVALAS