Fearing waste audits, Da Nang students remind each other to reduce littering.

Students sort and audit trash at school - Photo: D.N.

This information was presented at the "Clean City, Blue Ocean" program and the conference to evaluate the pilot implementation of green schools in Da Nang City, which was held on the afternoon of May 30th.

Fear of waste audits leads to reduced littering.

Mr. Dang Ngoc Lam, principal of Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Hai Chau district, Da Nang), said that the school implements the Green School model with many activities such as replacing disposable products, equipping water filtration systems to fill personal water bottles, labeling classroom waste bins according to the school's sorting and processing methods, conducting waste audits, and monitoring the amount of waste generated in the school monthly…

"The school conducts a waste audit at least once a week. At times, the amount of waste is so large that the audit is quite strenuous for students and teachers. Afterwards, everyone reminds each other to reduce littering so that the audits need to be done less often," Mr. Lam recounted.

Accordingly, waste auditing includes steps such as collecting, recording, and inventorying the total amount of waste collected by individuals, classes, and schools in a day or a week.

The total amount of waste in the school will then be estimated based on the number and condition of the audited trash cans, and the proportion of each type of waste will be estimated. The audit will help students understand where their waste comes from and how much they have.

One student said, "From first grade to fifth grade, I never brought food to school, but I was so surprised when I counted the amount of trash in just one week. When I heard that the amount of trash at the landfill was 100 times more than at school, I really didn't dare to litter anymore."

On the sidelines of the conference, some teachers said that when implementing the waste audit method, many students, who initially disliked touching trash, gradually became enthusiastic about the activity and were truly surprised at how much they had thrown away. Then, through having to count the trash every day, they... became afraid of touching trash, afraid of the amount of waste generated by the class increasing, so they minimized littering as much as possible.

Use reusable bottles instead of single-use plastic bottles - Photo: D.N.

Over 11 tons of waste were sorted and recycled.

The Green School model was implemented by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in coordination with the Department of Education and Training of Da Nang City and other organizations. After only 9 months of implementation in 20 schools across Da Nang, the model has collected, sorted, and recycled over 11.7 tons of waste, including 0.7 tons of plastic waste.

Schools have implemented regulations on reducing plastic and sorting waste; invested in waste sorting systems; launched campaigns to replace single-use plastic items in cafeterias; installed drinking water systems in schools and encouraged students and teachers to use personal water bottles; and limited printing when organizing events…

In addition, many green initiatives are regularly implemented by teachers and students, forming green habits in schools such as: composting, collecting empty milk cartons, collecting batteries, sorting waste in classrooms, using decorative boards instead of banners and backdrops…

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/so-kiem-toan-rac-hoc-sinh-da-nang-nhac-nhau-bot-xa-20240531005932522.htm