Module 4: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION (SDG12)Sustainable consumption and production means promoting resource and energy efficiency, as well as ensuring access to basic services, decent and environmentally friendly work and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation contributes to the realization of overall development plans, the reduction of future economic, environmental, and social costs, the improvement of economic competitiveness and the reduction of poverty.
For a long time, nature was thought to be an inexhaustible source of resources, to the point of considering it as "the faithful companion of life". But today the resources consumed by the world's population are more than ecosystems can provide. For social and economic development to take place within a framework of sustainability, our society must radically change its way of producing and consuming goods.
Hence, there’s a urgent need to create the conditions to reduce the exploitation of natural resources through the recovery of existing resources (waste) to put back into the production cycle. The valorisation of existing resources passes through the recycling of waste as a suitable raw/second material to produce new objects. This is why the choice of the title "recycling school".
Waste, if inadequately managed, ceases to be a resource and creates pollution causing the collapse of Mother Earth. It follows that:
Among the teaching methods that most attract the curiosity of young people are certainly those that are carried out in workshops. Here students, guided by an adult educator, gather to work in team for one purpose: the creation of a new product.
CREATIVE LABORATORY WITH RECYCLED MATERIAL
The activity makes you think about the possibility of experimenting with different materials, giving a second life to an object destined for waste, that is how a waste can become a resource and promote sustainable behaviour, favouring manual and artistic skills.
Material
In each class an interactive whiteboard will allow to offer to the students a video foreseen at the beginning of the lesson; small domestic packaging in plastic and cardboard, hot glue, vinyl glue, scissors, acrylic colour or markers. Other materials may be necessary depending on the activity chosen by the teacher/teacher.
Duration
90 minutes
Group size
Maximum number of students per group: 5
- The first phase of the lesson will serve as “ice breaking” and to introduce the students to the themes of sustainability of the dynamics of production and consumption of goods, with emphasis on the importance of the waste cycle in a circular economy framework. It consists of the projection of a short video (possibly no longer than 5 minutes) on the topic that each teacher can easily find on the web in the students' mother tongue. The proposition of a video in English would be very useful from an interdisciplinary point of view, but it is not recommended due to the relative complexity of the topic, which could put young students in difficulty.
At the end of the video, the teacher/teacher will briefly introduce the topic in the more general context of sustainability, and then move on to illustrate the demonstration activity that the whole class will carry out in the remaining time. The aim is to show pupils how easy, useful, fun and creative it can be to retrieve seemingly insignificant objects that would otherwise be destined to become potentially polluting waste.
- The teacher/teacher will divide the class into groups of a maximum of 5 students, taking care to proceed with a balanced criterion and ensuring that there are no groups that are too weak in terms of creativity and manual skills.
- Each group will meet in order to have sufficient workspace available (example: two desks next to each other). The teacher/teacher will then assign each group a manual work to be done with recycled materials. The assignment will be done by random method, with each group choosing a closed and numbered envelope containing the respective instructions, which will have been previously prepared by the teacher/teacher.
The Internet offers a wide range of tutorials (in particular through the YouTube channel) from which the teacher/teacher will be able to draw in order to choose the most suitable jobs for the class to which the activity will be proposed. Here are some examples:
When in a supermarket, the shopping bag is easily filled with plastic trays containing fruit, vegetables, fresh gastronomy products, etc. Unfortunately, these trays are disposable and they generate a large amount of waste. With a little creativity, you can get practical and useful household items in just a few minutes. Below you can find some links where you can find ideas and instructions with the use of images only, which can then be used regardless of the mother tongue of the teacher/teacher, who can then briefly transcribe the instructions and place them in the envelopes for the groups to draw lots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l25txAG3qk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_T9kz67JPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77XGvD7_MIQ
Again the plastic protagonist of another series of activities to be carried out with the caps of water bottles, soft drinks, milk, detergents, etc.. to create decorative mosaics, garlands, key rings, etc.. Also in this case there are many tutorials to refer to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m-UymTVAPY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GehkIPpCac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwQPTfftb90
Paper and cardboard are also particularly abundant materials in the packaging and shopping products of each household. And they too can find new life in the home before they are even disposed of through separate collection. Here are some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XotrKv7F9JE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyVAkw5Y-M4
To stimulate involvement, the teacher/teacher can ask the class to think about their everyday life and identify the household packaging that can be recovered and/or recycled, establishing what material it is made of.
Launch the activity by proposing a simple and satisfying work, which once performed at school with the group you are part of, can be repeated at home by individuals. The teacher/teacher will also be able to highlight all the possible variations that can lead to a final "personalized" result based on the use of the materials available, avoiding as much as possible the purchase of new materials or work tools (for example hot glue, which if not available can be replaced by other tube glues more easily available in all homes and maybe at school).
Very important: avoid projects that involve the use of dangerous tools such as cutters, flames, drills, etc.. Therefore, choose activities that require the use of only simple, non-hazardous materials that are easily available at school or at home.
Debriefing
At the end of the lesson the works carried out will be discussed with the teacher/teacher, highlighting the large quantity of useful and pleasant objects that can be made using what would have been waste for disposal. The teacher/teacher will invite their students to photograph and circulate as much as possible the images of what has been realized, in order to encourage other young people to reflect on the subject and to become familiar with what can become a creative and constructive game.
Since the basic objective of the whole activity is to help students understand the importance of a sustainable production and consumption cycle, that is compatible with the balance of the ecosystem in which we live, in conclusion the teacher/teacher will propose a video-flash or photographs that will counterbalance what has been realized in class and will highlight the dramatic consequences of unsustainable behaviours and lifestyles. These could be, for example, images showing the pollution of the seas caused by the abandonment of plastic waste:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArYLGNe-jCA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkSv2Z6HhFc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQTUWK7CM-Y
Follow-up/Inspiration for the future
In the following lessons, based on the response of the class to the stimuli offered through the activities carried out, the teacher will be able to return to the subject with new reflections and suggestions on the behaviour that each citizen, even the youngest, can adopt to improve the sustainability of production and consumption activities.
A possible trace of the reflections to be proposed starts from a short historical excursus, then comes today with concrete examples of sustainable lifestyles.
Since the 1970s, the progressive awareness of environmental issues has given rise to a broad debate on the future of the planet. This debate has involved international organizations, opinion movements, governments and scholars and has led to the concept of sustainable development, which is “able to meet the needs of current generations without compromising the possibility of future generations to meet their own needs".
Our planet needs to be respected and safeguarded: with this in mind, by 2030 it is important to adopt sustainable policies based on product recycling, reduce waste and reduce emissions of toxic substances, especially from large multinational companies.
Since it is evident that obtaining concrete results by 2030 will not be an easy task, the teacher in the following lessons will try to convey to the pupils the importance of small daily gestures, especially if we will be many. He/she will refer to things like the following:
- Reduce water consumption by avoiding waste. Do not let water flow if not necessary, use washing machine and dishwasher always at full load etc.
- Prefer using low impact means of transport, especially in the city, where the car can often be replaced by the bicycle.
- Avoid wasting electricity, buying class A appliances, turning off the light every time you leave a room, etc.
- Differentiate waste by trying to recycle as much as possible, avoid unnecessary packaging, do not use plastic plates and cutlery etc.
- Make smart shopping, using canvas shopping bags and paying attention to the environmental impact of what we buy. For example, use as much as possible on tap detergents and bulk products.
- Use recycled paper whenever you can, do not print email or other documents if not necessary etc.
References/Further reading
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