Assignment 1B: Learning through Recycling Project Idea.

Project Title: Learning through recycling.

Project goal:  

To provide students with meaningful education; equipping them with 21st Century skills and global competence as they improve their school and local environment through putting up trash cans for plastics/plastic bags at the schools and also having community outreach plastics/plastic bags collection and sensitization activities. and sharing these experiences with other students around the world interested in improving their environment.

Magnitude of the problem: 

In the 2007 National budget, Dr. Ezra Suruma, the then Minister of Finance of Uganda declared a complete ban on the importation and use of the plastic bags and also declared a 120% tax on the thinner ones.  He said the ban was being introduced because of serious environmental concerns and difficulties in the disposal of plastic bags and plastic containers. Despite the Minister’s efforts to control pollution due to the plastic bags, they are still a big problem in the country. Discarded plastic bags can still be seen by the roadside in residential areas and also block many of the drainage channels within the city causing floods all over the streets of Kampala.

On the other hand, every year when students graduate disturbing statistics are printed out in newspaper of how almost 3/4 of the graduates can not get jobs because there are no jobs or because they are  not actually ready for the job market. I just keep wondering if University graduates are not ready for the job market then who is? This is because of the separation of education from issues affecting our society. This project seeks to make use of technology to enable students carry out recycling activities within their schools and local communities while sharing with other students around the world.

Aim of project:

Project students will develop 21st century skills and global competency through working with students around the world while recycling and properly manage plastics in their schools and local communities.

Background of the project:

Who: high schools at 3 start up schools.
What:  empower the students with knowledge, motivation and trash cans so they take the lead in the transformation process of plastics management in the country.
Where: at 3 high schools in Uganda and also in their local communities.
How: through talks at assemblies from specialists in environmental issues and provision  of trash cans and connecting with other youth through iEARN forums.
Why: to improve plastics management habits in the schools and local communities around the schools.
When: starting March this year.

Objectives of the project:

1. To empower young people in 3 start up schools so they can be at the forefront of the reuse and recycling of the plastics and plastic bags while in schools by giving talks at the school assemblies
2. To provide 5-8 trash cans at each of the 3 schools (depending on the number of canteens at each school) so that students can safely dispose off the plastics in an environmentally friendly manner.
3. Provide students with an opportunity of collaborating with other students carrying out similar activities (recycling and other environmental conservation related activities) in other parts of the world through the iEARN YouthCaN project forum.
4. To establish partnerships with recycling centres around the 3 schools so that students can sell off the collected plastics to these centres.

Anticipated challenges and risks:

1. Raising of seed funds for the project.
2. Budgeting for project activities.
2. Generation of enough money from the sold off plastics to buy other trash cans which they can then take out to their local communities.