Waste collection to raise awareness among schoolchildren

MerTerre

Action zones

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

The project

SensibilizationDecontamination

Adopt'1 Spot, an educational tool to raise awareness of waste management. Schools can benefit from personalized support from MerTerre to involve young people in the management of their territory. By acquiring data, they can alert local authorities and monitor the implementation of locally adapted preventive measures.

150

spots

created as part of the Adopt'1 Spot program.

8 500

people

and already a hundred schoolchildren.

metric tons

of waste collected during 338 pick-ups.

Solution

pupils made awarepupils made awareEvery year, up to 12 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans and 80% of this waste found at sea comes from land. As the ocean is the primary regulator of the climate, preserving marine ecosystems also means combating global warming.

To take action and put in place appropriate and effective public policies, we need to better understand this pollution: data on waste collected during clean-up operations are invaluable and enable us to trace the origin of waste to establish recommendations. It is also essential to involve the younger generations to raise their awareness of this pollution and prevent the same mistakes from being made again.

To meet this dual challenge, MerTerre has developed the participatory science programAdopt'1 Spot: a central tool of the Zéro Déchet Sauvage collaborative platform. Thanks to regular pick-ups, this program makes it possible toprotect fragile locations subject to chronic pollution and monitor this issue by collecting reliable data on the waste collected.

Through its educational component, Adopt'1 Spot also makes it possible to playfully raise awareness among schoolchildren (schools, colleges, high schools, leisure centers, etc.), introduce them to the scientific approach in the field and make them aware of their ability to protect the environment.

News

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11/18/2024

Adopt'1 Spot: First pick-ups in Aygalades with Collège Marc Ferrandi

Dear difteurs,

Through the Adopt'1 Spot program, the Collège Marc Ferrandi and its students are mobilizing to give back to the inhabitants of the quartier des Aygalades in Marseille, a cleaner and more welcoming space, while becoming aware of the impact of their actions on the preservation of their immediate environment.

On May 14, 2024, on the first day, the students began their action with a classroom awareness. In the morning, they learned about the issues surrounding abandoned waste, before moving on to a two-hour afternoon collection on the site. If, at first, the students thought the area around their school was free of garbage, their perception quickly changed. They were satisfied by the amount of litter accumulated, often integrated into the landscape to the point of no longer being noticed.

A month later, on June 17, 2024, the students were back for a second day of collection. This time, their enthusiasm and efficiency showed a real change in their perception and increased motivation. The students put to good use the skills they had acquired on the first day: sorting, pre-characterization and task allocation.

Yet pollution remained omnipresent, with cans still accounting for the majority of waste collected.

Despite this observation, the students redoubled their efforts, aware that these repeated gestures are indispensable to improve durably their living environment.

A big thank you, dear donors, for your donations and your precious support!

11/6/2024

Adopt'1 Spot: Third litter-picking session with Lycée Artaud

Dear difteurs,

On mTuesday, April 16, 2024, the Spot des Bengalis, located along the cours d'eau du Jarret in Marseille, hosted a new waste collection action. The initiative brought together the association MerTerre, represented by Vincent Lelièvre, Clémentine Tacchino and Sibel Bagci, as well as 20 second-year students from Lycée Artaud. The event, supported by the Epage Huca as part of the Adopt'1 Spot program, is part of the ongoing fight against marine pollution.

This clean-up session left a mark on people's minds, particularly that of the students, who were struck by the persistence of garbage in the area despite the two previous interventions over the past two months. The spectacle of accumulated litter, including large numbers of soda cans and candy wrappers, highlighted the scale of the problem and the need for continued awareness-raising and clean-up efforts.

After a reminder of the objectives of the day and safety instructions, the students were divided into teams to facilitate the collection. Equipped with sorting bags for each type of waste, they set about the collection, meticulously scouring the banks of the stream to remove the numerous items of garbage littering the site. As last March, at the end of an hour and a half's effort, the students collected a total of 225 liters of waste (weighing in at 18 kg). A significant proportion was made up of plastics, amounting to 160 liters (for 8 kg), as in the second collection.

A big thank you for your invaluable support and donations!

The money will be used for

The sum raised will strengthen the educational aspect of the Adopt'1 Spot program and offer customized support to schools, middle schools and high schools: awareness-raising, on-site waste characterization, coordination of collections, equipment, etc.

MerTerre

students reached

already funded

158 difts

Action zones

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Why we love it?

MerTerre's innovative project uses participatory science to raise schoolchildren's awareness of environmental protection issues in a fun way. The comprehensive approach of protecting, monitoring and cleaning up spots, combined with data production, is the best way to educate children while familiarizing them with the scientific approach.

We believe in the power of awareness-raising, to involve the younger generation in the fight against widespread abandoned waste.