Plastic is a key material of our economy: it can have multiple functions that simply enhance our lives or that even save human lives. However, the way plastics are currently produced, consumed and disposed undermines the economic benefits of a more 'circular' approach, resulting in a severe danger for the environment and subsequently for human life. Subsequently, what emerges from international and European forums is the urgent need to tackle the environmental problems resulting from the production, use and consumption of plastics. In order to do this, it is necessary to rethink and improve plastics’ functions in a more sustainable way (EC, 2018). The creation of a more sustainable world requires individuals to become active ‘sustainability change-makers’ who hold the necessary knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. Education, therefore, plays a crucial role in the adoption of more environment-friendly plastic-related consumption patterns. Such a responsibility invests all education levels and types (UNESCO, 2017). At this regard, PLASTEAM Project is aimed at educating pupils and staff from primary schools in responsibly using, consuming and recycling plastic items, informing them about their environmental impact and providing didactical activities for promoting sustainable waste disposal and plastics management systems in primary schools. In order to achieve this goal, the Project will implement the following activities: O1 – Plastic footprint: a plastic footprint app will be developed to gather data on primary schools plastic behavior and investigate the waste disposal and recycle attitudes of primary schools. O2 – ‘Plastic-free school’ Recommendations and contest: the Consortium will develop a set of Guidelines at management and students level to implement sustainable practices from both a top-down and bottom-up approaches. Furthermore, Partner and Associate schools will take part in a contest to identify the best STEAM solution addressing plastic-free challenges at school level. O3 – STEAM box and Lab: a set of innovative didactical tools and activities will be designed and used within the STEAM fields to be easily integrated into structured curricula of primary schools. The box will acknowledge pupils about the damages of unsustainable waste production and in particular of consuming single-use plastics and will develop key STEAM-related skills in pupils such as problem solving attitude. The STEAM box will be tested and used during the Labs in order to develop the solutions that will be presented at the Final Contest (E6). From the methodological point of view, PLASTEAM relies on the whole-school approach which is considered to be particularly effective when it comes to environmental education because it combines formal and non-formal school’s activities in a way to enforce teaching and values with their practice and experience (UNESCO, 2018). In this sense, the STEAM Model reveals to be perfectly in line with such a methodology as it is characterized by an integrated approach of different disciplines that contribute to the acquisition of an enquiry-based learning (EBL) and subsequently to a set of key skills such as creative thinking and problem-solving (Martinez, 2017). The project directly addresses primary schools (teachers, students, headmasters etc.), but, in the view of the whole-school approach, it also addresses other educational grades (AGORA) and institutions (MIO, NEMO) in order to promote cross-sectoral cooperation. Implementing whole-school approaches requires the development of key relationships and engagements with the local community in order to mutually support and promote sustainable actions. As a result, the project is expected to impact not only on the direct target groups – managers, staff, teachers and students – but also on all other players that gravitate around the school's environment such as families, local communities, public authorities etc.
The objectives of the PLASTEAM project are to raise awareness about the environmental impact of plastics, promote responsible plastic consumption in primary schools, reduce the use of single-use plastics, empower pupils with critical thinking skills, foster innovation for sustainable practices, and encourage collaboration and knowledge exchange. Through these objectives, the project aims to drive positive change, instill sustainability values, and contribute to the transition towards a circular economy and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
PLASTEAM project comes from the need to shift at European level to a more sustainable and circular economy, a topic which is very relevant to all Partners. The PLASTEAM project aimed to address the urgent need to promote responsible plastic consumption and reduce the environmental impact of plastics in primary schools. By raising awareness among schools, developing didactical activities, and providing pupils with skills to challenge existing production/consumption models, PLASTEAM aimed to cultivate a generation of environmentally conscious individuals. By targeting primary school pupils, the project sought to instill sustainable values and behaviors from an early age, driving change and setting an example for EU and global action in the transition towards a sustainable plastics economy.