The power of recycling, the innovators of tomorrow

Global – Don’t they say that imitation is the highest form of flattery? The thing is this; if we want our kids to act wisely, we must lead by example. The benefits for the global recycling community are potentially huge if we can rally the next generation of engineers, policy-makers and entrepreneurs to embrace sustainable practices.

Education is exactly what our April issue cover story touches upon; see the link at the bottom to read the feature for free! The good news is that many projects have already been launched across the world to nurture children’s recycling mindset.

Buildings bridges between schools and the scrap industry is of vital importance for the survival of the global recycling sector, according to BIR president Ranjit Baxi. He has identified ‘greater connection’ with younger people as one of his goals for the recycling industry during his term of office.

Indeed, to make sure that recycling is well represented and understood, collective efforts find a way to ‘integrate scrap recycling into their classroom experience’, agrees ISRI president Robin Wiener. Our latest coverstory “The Class of 2016” perfectly illustrates what is being done today to achieve this.

Thus far, the feedback has been immensely positive from both teachers and youngsters. In Poland, for instance, a school has managed to boost paper recycling results by inviting the country’s best-selling authors to come over and congratulate the kids on their victory – thus mixing sustainable practices and literature.

And in the USA, no less than 23 985 teachers are involved in an online education course set up by the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) trade association. In doing so, they have reached an estimated 1.25 million pupils aged between five and 11.

Read all about the many different projects going in our latest cover story. Who knows, you might just get inspired…