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Evaluate food packages used by food production companies

The problem
Food packages used by food production companies in Cyprus are not recyclable
The solution
Awarding system for consumers to raise their awareness about recycled products
The prototype
Eco-friendly awarness badges
The societal actors
An organisation responsible for packaging waste

Hosted by SALL , contributed by Yvoni on 8 December 2022

This living lab project was interested in searching, identifying and evaluating food packages used by food production companies in Cyprus. Participants investigated the type of packages used by local producers and how to promote eco-friendly packaging to producers and consumers. The solution was developing an awarding system for consumers to raise their awareness about whether the products they buy are friendly to the environment and can be recycled.

The Junior and Senior School is a private English school, located close to the city center and situated in a busy area surrounded by several businesses and organizations. The teacher who coordinated the project firstly participated in the SALL workshop organized by the National Coordinator (University of Cyprus) during which an initial discussion regarding the project the school could undertake took place. The teacher was familiar in advance with the implementation of school projects (mainly related to STEM education or environmental education) but not with the LL methodology or the concept of the food system. Hence, support was requested from the National Coordinator in regards to the planning process of their project and materials that can be disseminated among students for informing and engaging them in a LL. The teacher and students also devoted some time in order to study concepts related to the food system, as well as to identify potential collaborators in their local community.

The school was interested in searching, identifying and evaluating food packages used by food production companies in Cyprus. The school investigated the type of packages that are used by local producers and how to promote eco-friendly packaging to producers and consumers with the support of societal actors (e.g., researchers, recycling companies, NGOs, parents). Based on the organization who is in charge for the recycling here in Cyprus, approximately 40% of the materials that people put in recycling bins cannot be recycled. Their end goal is to create a service that will clearly indicate if a product is recyclable in Cyprus, before the customer purchases it. In this way, they will promote recyclable products / companies and at the same time this initiative will impact on improving the quality of recycling.

1. The Research in Science and Technology Education Group (ReSciTEG) facilitated the communication between an organization responsible for packaging waste (i.e. Green Dot Cyprus) and the school. Furthermore, the group provided information regarding other organisations who could serve as societal actors as well as their knowledge and expertise in research methods and best practices for implementing a living lab project in the context of food system in order to support the school in creating and sustaining a Living Lab. This collaboration was on-going throughout the project.

2. Green Dot Cyprus provided expertise and feedback related to the project by providing information material, suggesting other societal actors that they can collaborate with, and answering different questions of the students during different stages of their project

e.g.,

What % of households recycle?

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Which of the above types of plastics do you accept?

What happens to the partially recyclable objects (egg packet with sticker) do you separate them manually?

The previously mentioned collaboration was done through email exchanges with the teacher, the NC and a representative of Green Dot. An online meeting with all the participants of the school's Living Lab took place during which the students pitched their ideas, asked questions and planned future collaborations with the organization and other potential societal actors.  

Identifying a problem - conceptualizing their goal

At the initial stages of the planning process, the teacher informed the school and disseminated the SALL project in her different classes. After this dissemination, a group of ten students declared interest. The group decided to organize weekly meetings for planning and implementing their project. The Initial meetings were focused on brainstorming different ideas and problems/issues that concerned the students as well as their local community in regards to the food system theme. In addition, different societal actors that could potentially be involved in the project were identified and different ways in which they could be approached were discussed. In one of these meetings, a member of the National Coordination team participated in order to facilitate the brainstorming process and provide support during the planning of the next steps.

  

Pictures 1& 2: Students brainstorm ideas and design their logo

Picture 3: Researching companies and products with eco-friendly packaging

 

Picture 4: The students of the Living Lab

Implementation - establishing collaborations & creating a prototype (service)

After deciding on their aim, students designed their Living Lab logo and created a list of societal actors that they can approach for supporting them in different ways during the project. This list included companies that design and sell eco-friendly packages, companies responsible for recycling, supermarkets in the area and social media channels that promote eco-friendly products in Cyprus. The students decided to firstly focus on creating a collaboration with Green-dot and they formulated different questions to pose to them for clarifying some issues that were not able to fully comprehend during their initial research (e.g. what types of plastic are not recyclable in Cyprus?).

After an initial discussion with the organization through emails, an online meeting was organized for students to pitch their ideas to Green Dot. During the meeting, they also received information and feedback from Green Dot, which helped them to better define their actions. Green Dot forwarded informational material to students about the recycling symbols displayed on packaging and the obligation of organizations for recovering and recycling their packaging (percentage targets per material: plastics, wood, ferrous metals, aluminum, glass, paper and cardboard). Green Dot also proposed some other potential societal actors that they collaborate with that could be involved in the project, like ENERGO (responsible for handling non-economically recyclable material to be used as raw materials in industries), Green Points (responsible for the disposal of household waste) and the Department of Environment of the Lanitis industry (one of the largest business groups in Cyprus).