Cradle to Cradle Plastics with Schools and Institutions

The project aims to convey the entire plastic life cycle in a practical way through workshops that explore theoretical concepts, thereby bringing them to life. Laboratory experiments and field trips to companies are also on the agenda. For children, educationally designed learning materials and direct contact with researchers are intended to raise awareness of plastics through “learning by doing.” The project is rounded out by field trips to local companies.

One goal of the project is to help people understand that “plastic waste” is a valuable raw material. This is because when plastics reach the end of their useful life, they can be reused to create new products through sorting, cleaning, shredding, and processing—in other words, recycling. While this process is still relatively underutilized today, it will play an increasingly important role in the coming decades.

Children and young people are the adults of tomorrow. They will be responsible for how our society develops over the next few generations. That is why it is important to start with them. And that is another key focus of the project: raising children’s and young people’s awareness of the “Cradle to Cradle” process (a concept in which resources are used cyclically).

All in all, the project aims to give all participants a sense of plastics and their potential. Furthermore, what they learn is to be reinforced and expanded through “hands-on” independent experimentation and research. “Learning from one another” plays a major role here, especially since high school students and college students are able to adapt content for younger students and even take on the role of teachers. Teaching materials are also created by students for students and will be made available to interested schools after the project ends.

Project Partners:

Scientific Partners:

• Johannes Kepler University Linz – Institute of Polymeric Materials and Testing (IPMT)
• JKU Open Lab – Association for the Promotion of Student and Young Scientists in the Natural Sciences
• University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (FH OÖ), Faculty of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Wels

Corporate Partners:

• Business Upper Austria – Upper Austrian Economic Agency GmbH / Plastics Cluster, Environmental Technology Cluster
• Trodat Produktions GmbH

(Pre-)school educational institutions:

• Wels City Kindergarten
• Wilhering Elementary School
• WRG/ORG of the Franciscan Sisters of Wels
• HTL Wels
• HTL Andorf

External project partners:

• Borealis
• EREMA
• LAVU Upper Austria
• Welios