[#Environement] Raising awareness about waste

2 153 million tonnes.

It was the amount of waste generated in Europe by all economic activities and households in 2020*.

It represents 4.8 tonnes per European. Among this massive number, only 39.2 % were recycled and 32.2 % landfilled in the EU.

However, before thinking about recycling, reducing waste production starts with a major change in the way we all consume.

Facing these alarming figures and knowing the impact of waste production on climate change, what can we do to act at our own level?

McPhy is lucky to count among its employees, many people who are aware and involved around environmental issues.

And some of them found their own way to reduce their impact on our world.

We took advantage of the International Recycling Day to interview Christopher, Mechanical Design Engineer at McPhy, about raising awareness on waste reduction & changing our way of consuming.

Can you tell us what place waste reduction takes in your personal & professional life?

Definitively a big role. I've try to change the way I consume to almost no plastic & mainly organic and loose food. Of course, it is mostly within my own family but also spread between generations from by baby daughter to my grandmother. I won’t say that’s easy; it can be hard to manage, especially with replacing plastic diapers for tissue ones!

Following an eyes-opening trip to Vietnam with my wife in 2019, I realized I needed to act about waste.

As part of McPhy's cooptation program, part of your reward was benefiting from a free "Probono day". Can you tell us about the activity related to recycling you have chosen to carry out?

Following an eyes-opening trip to Vietnam with my wife, I realized I needed to act about waste. I knew that one person’s action won’t change the world, but I wanted to do my part, starting from home. Then I decided to join the local German association "Abfallstreife e.V. " meaning “Waste Patrol” in my own town. Our main missions are organizing waste collections in nature areas and their disposal management. But also raise people awareness about the impact of waste in nature as well as waste sorting / recycling (especially schools & kindergartens). Furthermore we are prospecting for recruiting new members to support our mission.

So for my probono day offered by McPhy I chose the opportunity to visit a 3rd grade class to alert them about waste production problem in a pedagogical way.

What was your approach to raise children awareness about these crucial topics for our future and especially theirs?

The sooner kids are informed about the urgency of the situation, the faster the issues are part of their lives and the easier it will be for them to change their behavior. We used games & quiz formats to make them connect to the subject. We were surprised that some of them were already quite aware of the main stakes. I was happy & surprised to witness the kid’s enthusiasm and interest in these topics. I think it is reassuring for the future and gives us motivation to continue.

I used games & quiz to make them connect to the subject but some of them where already quite aware.

What were you able to learn from this awareness-raising experience? What do you keep from the children's reactions?

I am taking with me their happiness and interest about those important topics. I am glad they were that responsive because we know their involvement is imperative for the future. It’s also encouraging me to keep going in this direction & strengthen my choice of commitment for the environment.

Finally, the key to make people change rests in leading by example.

As a member personally involved in an association acting in the collection of waste "Abfallstreife e.V." what advice would you like to give to help uschange our behavior?

When I came back from my trip to Vietnam, I was full or ideas & determined to act almost in all directions at the same time. This is not the way. I would rather advice to start small, with actions you feel okay to set up progressively in your life.

Also manage your expectations: everything won’t change all at once, do your best to meet your personal goals.

Sometimes we can feel alone in this fight & seeing not much of a result to comparing to our efforts. I would recommend as well to feel free to join movements or associations to feel connected to people committed to the same cause.

Finally, for me the key to make people change rests in leading by example. No need to force them to change or make them feel bad. Show them the way step by step! ?

Remember, the best waste is the one we don’t produce

The 5 famous golden rules of #zerowaste : “5 Rs”

• Refuse: before buying or accepting anything new/one-use only, ask yourself if you really need it and what other options you might consider.
• Reduce: think about what in your daily life is making you produce waste. Food wastage, good consumption, packaging, etc. & try to buy less but better.
• Reuse: consider how you can give another life to things & objects before throwing them away.
• Recycle: this is your last call if you cannot avoid the 3 first “R”s. ?
• Rot: use your organic waste to cook or feed your gardens.

*Source: Eurostat