January 26th commemorates the World Environmental Education Day, a date intended to raise awareness about the relevance of education as a fundamental tool to promote the protection of resources and the conservation of the environment we inhabit. In this framework, the schools play a crucial role, since they are key spaces to train new generations and promote an active commitment to the environment.
The recycling of used vegetable oil is a topic that is little talked about: Introducing this topic in educational institutions opens the door to the transformation of habits in Argentine homes that, according to a recent study, They discard more than 100 million liters of this waste per year. Preventing water and soil contamination caused by inadequate disposal and encouraging the active participation of new generations in caring for the environment are some of the objectives proposed by the campaign. “Recycle your Oil”that hethe company DH-SH has been moving forward since 2017based in the city of Capitán Bermúdez, Santa Fe, dedicated to the logistics and sanitation of the oil industry. This is a campaign that, last December was recognized by the Obrar Federal Awards of the Argentine Advertising Council, for communication with purpose.
The proposal of the Santa Fe company It has coverage in 15 provinces of the country with three main lines of work that consist of the collection and conditioning of used cooking oil from large generators, that is, gastronomic establishments, the installation of green dots so that small generators, and the start-up of their Environmental Education Program which has gained special relevance in recent years, boosted by the rise of virtuality.
“With our talks aimed at schools we seek to raise awareness about the importance of transforming waste into a resource, contributing to the development of a circular economy and strengthening responsible habits from an early age. The material is didactic and we work on different activities so that the students learn about this process and the importance of giving a second life to plant waste,” he indicated. Antonella Druetta, Head of Environment at DH-SH.
Scope and benefits
The educational proposal It has training for Primary and another for Secondary with downloadable digital material to continue working in class. The talks are virtual, free and free for educational institutions throughout the country.
The teaching material includes an animated short that the company launched in 2021, aimed at the little ones with the help of the Little Big Recyclers, two environmental child superheroes, created to reach children with the message.
Since its inception, there are already 4,802 students from all over the country who have accessed this training on the life cycle of oil, of which 42 belong to the initial level, 1,296 to the primary level and 2,540 to the secondary level. Of the total, 1,203 students were trained in 2024. These are children and young people from ten provinces of Argentina: Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Misiones, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, Santiago del Estero, Corrientes and Salta. All schools in the country can register freely and free of charge by writing to [email protected]. For those who are closer, the program includes guided tours of the plant with the aim of learning about the complete process first-hand.
Also, through its campaign, DH-SH trained 366 educational leadersbetween teachers and students at the tertiary and university level, including companies, to which are added 60 municipal references with which the company has an agreement for the installation of green points and the collection of used vegetable oil in their cities or communes.
Impact on schools
When some teachers who participated in the Program were consulted, they gave their perspective on the training and on the subsequent initiatives worked on in the classroom based on what was learned. “The training is excellent, it gave us a lot of information that we did not know about the topic that was addressed. “My students are excited to continue working with this important topic, oil recycling.”he assured Maria Pereyra, reference of Secondary School No. 15 “Libertador Gral. San Martin” and the Tinogasta Agrotechnical School, in the province of Catamarca.
For your part Mónica, teacher at the Nuestra Señora de los Milagros school, in the city of Capitán Bermúdez, in Santa Fe, He referred to the activities they carried out with their 6th grade students and that were linked to a visit to the DH-SH plant and an institutional project on environmental care. “The training was dynamic, with clear proposals that will allow us to continue developing our institutional project,” the teacher said.
From Secondary Education School No. 2 “Guillermo Leloir”, in the town of Ramallo, Buenos Aires, teacher Rocío, in charge of a second-year course, assured that: “the talk was very good, clear, the material was appropriate to the age of the children and “The back and forth with the students was very good.”. He also said that they are already organizing a visit to the plant for next year and another talk for the other courses since the project is institutional.
Source: Ambito
