STORY PREVIEW

2017

How Can We Improve recycling

Newton International School West Bay

Doha

MENTOR

Matthew Frost

STUDENTS

Khaled Almohamad,

Abudlla Albrudini,

Mohammed Rashid M J Al Naimi,

Step 1 FEEL

List the challenges or problems in your surroundings (school,neighbourhood etc.) that bothered you.

This report looked at the amount of paper and plastic waste at a primary school in Qatar. After speaking to a few class teachers, we found that the amount of plastic and paper waste in this particular school was huge. Therefore, we attempted to raise awareness around school by giving each class a recycling bin and a PowerPoint on the benefits of recycling.

State the problem chosen to work and why.

When the club didn’t know each other we had many ideas to improve taking care of recycling and garbage. We finally shared each other’s ideas and were split up to two groups: science and humanities. The science group realised that there was lots of paper and plastic which was simply thrown away and not recycled. Therefore, we researched on the internet and found out the issues our planet faces when we do not recycle. We know that this is a big issue in Qatar and we wanted to try and work together to do something to improve things.

Who were the people affected by the problem? What were their primary concerns?

It affects our future and our environment when we do not recycle or think about the waste that we throw away. Our project has helped our school community to think carefully about what w do with our waste.

Step 2 IMAGINE

List ALL the different solutions you came up with.

-assemblies -posters -letters to parents -Research -Recycling competitions -Collecting recycling -Putting more recycling bins in the school and checking the materials are recycled properly

Which solution from those listed above did you choose to implement and why?

We did a few of these solutions- we used assemblies to inform and encourage pupils to us the recycling bins; we used posters and a powerpoint to inform the children and classes about what was happening in school and we arranged for more recycling bins for general recycling and bottle top collection.

Step 3DO

Describe very briefly the process of implementing your solution(s).

The first thing we did was to speak with teachers in KS2 about how much paper they throw away in a normal day in their classroom. We found that many teachers said they throw around 50-100 pieces of paper away into the bin. We also asked how we could reduce this paper waste and most teachers suggested that we implement recycling bins in our school. Next, we created and sent a PowerPoint to the whole school This PowerPoint included information on damaged of not recycling and the benefits to it. This was to educate the children to understand how recycling is so important. After that, we planned on making recycling bins for all classes in school for them to put their paper waste in. We also began to ask children to bring in plastic bottle lids which were also sent to be recycled.

What was the result or impact of your project?

Our results show that there was a lot of paper waste in our school and that many teachers wanted a recycling bin designated for their classroom. We also found that many children did not really understand the concept of recycling this would need to be addressed if we were going to be successful in getting the school to recycle. We We have collected lots of bags of bottle tops that we will take down to the local hospital. There is an organisation which uses the plastic and melts it down to use as part of prosthetic limbs for those who need them. Throughout the school community we thought this was an amazing initiative to support- and by such a simple change too!

How many people were impacted by your solution(s)?

1500

What did the impacted people have to say about your project? Provide 2 quotes or testimonials:

I understand that I need to recycle paper and plastic because it helps our environment- year 3 pupil at school. I think it is great that the plastic bottle tops can be use to help others by making plastic arms for people who need them- year 5 pupil in the school.

What challenges did you encounter while implementing your project, and how did you overcome them?

We needed to source the recycling bins and research where our recycled waste went. We found that we were trying to recycling things at first but all of the waste was ending up in one bins at the end of the day.

How long did it take to implement your solution?

MORE THAN 30 DAYS

Which global goals does your story align with?

Climate Change

Please explain briefly why do you think so?

We think it aligns with this global goal because we were creating awareness of the effects of the waste we throw away and the important reasons that we need to recycle.

Step 4 SHARE

How did you share your project with your school and community? Who did you share your project with? What was their response?

Spoke in the KS2 Assembly to raise awareness to show people why it was important. We also shared the PowerPoint to classes, recycling bins and special eco-badges for a monitor in each class. To increase motivation, the principal gave out rewards to classes for the most recycled paper and the best decorated recycling bin.

Approximately how many people did you share your story of change with?

More than 100

Briefly share your plan to sustain the impact of your project?

We will continue to use the recycling bins in classrooms ad the play ground. We will continue to collect the bottle tops to donate to the initiative to be used for prosthetic limbs. Our understanding and resources for recycling have improved greatly and are now a part of our every day life at West Bay.

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