WEEE Collection at School

In occasion of the European Green week, 24 students managed to involve 1,500 more in good practices for the collection and recycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment, the so-called WEEE. An experimental project promoted by CNR researchers has transformed students of Liceo “Enrico Fermi” into ambassadors of the ecological transition, with the collaboration of the Hera Group, Erion, and Treee Srl.

The activity was carried out through the following steps:

1) The Fermi group of 24 students took part in two lessons with CNR scientists on critical raw materials and on the importance of WEEE recycling: “Will end before oil or metals?” by E. Polo and “Circular economy” by A. Zanelli.

2) Supported by teachers, they passed on what they learned to the other students during three school assemblies in which the CNR researchers themselves and the experts from Hera and from companies in the sector explained the chemical and technical aspects of the process of recovery and recycling of this waste. Particularly, A. Zanelli (CNR) & M. Mattioli (Hera) held webinars during an assembly with 320 student, while A. Castellano (Erion) & T. Sessa (Treee) accompanied 170 students in a virtual tour of a recycling factory.

3) The students were the leaders of an extraordinary collection, in collaboration with Hera, of all those small electrical and electronic appliances that lie unused in the drawers, in attic or cellar: over 400 pieces of WEEE were collected in one week, for a total of 220 kilos.

4) Thanks to www.weee4future.eu, which provides a digital calculator to measure the positive impact of the collection of the WEEE, the students were able to quantify their commitment: among the recovered raw materials there will be about 30 kilos of plastic, 600 grams of aluminum and 2.5 kilos of copper, and the emission into the atmosphere of about 1,250 kilos of carbon dioxide.

RM Ambassadors: Eleonora Polo, Alberto Zanelli, Antonella Castellano & Lorenzo Forini

News on Hera Group's website News on UTILITALIA's website News on e-gazette News on ESG News News on Corriere Nazionale News on Il Resto del Carlino News on local TV channel "éTV" News on local TV channel "TRC" (from 20:54) News on CNR's website (English) News on CNR's website (Italian) WEE4Future's waste calculator