A “Christmas village” in a microwave oven won the competition for student projects made from electronic waste, announced by the Association of Bulgarian Black Sea Municipalities (ABBSM). A total of 128 group and individual projects by students from grades 1 to 4 from the Varna region took part in the competition. The teamwork of the children from the second and fourth grades of St. Kliment Ohridski Primary School in the village of Konstantinovo won over the 9-member jury with its creativity. The jury included two experts from the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development – Ilian Iliev and Svilena Velcheva.
Second place went to a robot with a glowing heart and an eco-message, made by Konstantin Stoyanov from Vasil Levski Secondary School in Devnya. Third place went to Iva Todorova from St. Patriarch Evtimii Primary School in Beloslav, who made a map of Bulgaria out of an electronic circuit board and waste components. The competition was organized as part of the pilot information and education campaign “WEEE BEHAVE: Electronic waste?
Recycle and save the future!” Recycle and save the future!” During the campaign, experts from the organization visited over 400 students in class. Through talks, educational games, and a workshop with a practical demonstration of recycling and dismantling old electrical appliances, the children learned how every part of their old devices can be reused. WEEE BEHAVE is an international initiative to prevent water pollution from e-waste by using it as a resource.
WEEE BEHAVE is an international initiative to prevent water pollution from e-waste by using it as a resource. It is being implemented simultaneously in several European countries—Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain. WEEE BEHAVE is based on the idea that awareness must begin in schools in order to influence families and ultimately communities.
The campaign is part of a larger project – “eWAsTER,” which is developing a strategy to prevent the accumulation of electronic waste in the municipality of Varna. In addition to an information campaign, it also includes good practices applied in European countries that are partners in the project. The 7-year strategy will be submitted for approval by the Varna Municipal Council so that it can be included in the municipality’s annual activities, said Polina Antonova, project manager. She gave as an example of good practice the activities of the Provincial Waste Consortium in Malaga, Spain, a partner in the project. The 28 municipalities in Malaga invest in a joint company that collects, recycles, and utilizes electronic waste in their territory.
As part of the initiative, ABCHO will start working with municipalities and large companies that manufacture and supply electronic parts and equipment, as well as with centres for the purchase and recycling of electrical waste. Their representatives will be trained and motivated to organize environmentally friendly public procurement, as well as to process and use old electronic components using environmentally sustainable methods.
