St. George’s School, from Biscay, is competing for a European award for its project to reduce noise in the school by recycling textile materials

• The European Week for Waste Prevention is the greatest campaign to raise awareness about waste prevention in Europe and is held annually on the third week of November

• In the Basque Country it is driven by Ihobe and in the 2022 edition 118 proposals were received

• The initiative of the British school is nominated for the award for the construction of panels using textile waste to reduce noise in the cafeteria, involving 330 students, more than 200 families, and 50 teachers in the project

St. George's British International School in Leioa, Biscay, is the Basque candidacy that, among the 16 finalists of a total of 16,129 actions presented throughout Europe, aspires to win the XIV European award in the category of Educational Center for the best action of the European Week for Waste Prevention.    

The initiative of the British school of Leioa (Biscay) opts for the award for the construction of panels with towels to reduce noise in the cafeteria of its educational center. In addition to reusing materials such as old towels and pieces of fabric, these acoustic absorption mechanisms help generate a much more pleasant environment during mealtime, without diminishing the aesthetics.

The students themselves have been responsible for collecting and constructing the panels, and to obtain the material, the school has involved families by setting up containers for donations. In total, 330 students, more than 200 families and 50 teachers have been involved in the project.         

The theme of the 2022 edition of the European Week for Waste Prevention has focused on circularity in textiles, to highlight the strong impact it has on our planet and, above all, to inspire actions that will bring more circularity to this sector.

Textile consumption occupies fourth place in the ranking of consumption elements with the highest environmental impact, and the textile and clothing industry is one of the most polluting, given the strong impact it has on land use, water, pollution and even greenhouse gas emissions.

European Week for Waste Prevention in the Basque Country

In this last edition of the European Week for Waste Prevention, held from November 19th to 27th, 2022, a total of 118 actions were received in the Basque Country: 41 administrations and authorities, 18 companies, 55 educational institutions and 4 associations. Across Europe, a total of 16,129 actions have been registered.

Every year, a jury composed of recognized environmental professionals at the European level selects the finalist actions from all the inspiring actions of the Week in different countries, taking into account the following criteria: visibility and communication, quality of content, originality and exemplarity, and lasting impact.

The awards ceremony will take place on June, 1, 2023 in Dublin. Registration for the event, which is completely free, as well as the rest of finalist initiatives, can be found on the website of the European Week for Waste Prevention.

Packaging, the central theme in 2023

On the other hand, the organization has already announced the thematic focus of the 15th edition of the European Week for Waste Prevention, which will take place next November: packaging. Taking some figures from the European Commission on Packaging, this waste stream is one of the main consumers of virgin materials and already accounts for 36% of municipal solid waste.

The European Week for Waste Prevention is the largest campaign to raise awareness about waste prevention in Europe. Driven by local and regional public authorities, it brings together all types of stakeholders (citizens, schools, companies, NGOs, associations, etc.). In the Basque Country, the Public Environmental Management Company of the Basque Government, Ihobe, is the entity in charge of promoting and boosting the European Week for Waste Prevention as the technical secretariat of waste coordinating body, OCR.