22.09.2021

Beacon participates in “Virada Sustentável 2021”

By Bruna Cronfli

“Virada Sustentável” is one of the most important and expected sustainability events of the year that takes place in several cities in Brazil and offers a very rich moment of collective construction for school communities.

Sustainability, one of Beacon’s core values, is part of the curriculum at every grade level. Reconnectta, a partner company and the school’s advisor on the subject, organizes and systematizes sustainability projects linked to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), also linking them with the PYP (Primary Years Program) Research Units.

This year, “Virada Sustentável”’s focus was to develop a campaign to collect special waste and dispose of it properly. Countless materials, when thrown in common waste bins or in inappropriate places, cause negative impacts on health and the environment and lose their potential to be recycled and even generate income. Other materials, despite being recyclable, present a logistical specificity that makes their disposal in the “common” selective collection unfeasible, therefore they need to be sent to appropriate places or partners.

For this reason, Beacon has joined “Virada”, as it is a contact center for many people, serving as a hub for collecting these materials and strengthening the dissemination of adequate procedures for the disposing of waste. Among these, other reasons were taken into account for the school’s initiative to become a collection point, such as the opportunity to develop tangible and practical actions with a measurable impact indicator; reinforce the idea of ​​collective effort and collaboration for transformation; and, based on correct disposal, reflect on our own consumption and possible alternatives.

Thus, Beacon collected household sponges, aluminum seals, plastic caps, writing instruments, handouts, books, electronic waste, and X-rays. The students were able to engage in the campaign, bringing materials from their houses to be discarded, raising awareness in the community. The waste was sent to the NGO “8 Elementos”, which separated and assigned the correct destination to each item. The result of the project was the collection of 16.50 kg of paper, 12.50 kg of x-ray plates, 83.00 kg of electronics, 89.53 kg of plastic lids, 10.32 kg of aluminum seals, 5.30 kg of pens and pencils, and 1.00 kg of domestic sponges. The destination for recycling the collected waste saved the following natural resources: 0.50 trees, 1.657 liters of water, 130.78 kw/h of energy and 11.64 liters of oil. In addition, it avoided the emission of 178 kg of CO2, the equivalent of a popular car traveling 1.188 km.

This year, “Virada Sustentável” did not have as many actions as in previous years, even so, its principles and proposals remained relevant, offering a special opportunity for the school community to keep its engagement toward positive changes.