Separate collection, recycling and technology, learned through play and hands-on experience

Good habits form early, and environmental education works best when children experience it rather than just listen to it. That is why Sylevy Cleaning spent today with the students of the Waldorf School in Târgu Mureș during the school’s Green Week, on a day dedicated to separate waste collection, recycling, technology and learning by experience.

The day had several parts: a team game for the younger children, a discussion about the circular economy for the older ones, a meeting with the waste collection truck, and donations that will stay at the school. It all started from one idea: a sanitation system works best when people understand what happens to their waste after they throw it away.

“Sylevy EcoMission”: A Game About the Journey of Waste, for Grades 0–4

For grades 0–4, we prepared the interactive game “Sylevy EcoMission”. The children worked in teams and built their own collection trucks. Then they collected, from a map of Târgu Mureș, the waste matching each waste fraction.

The game followed the whole journey of the waste, not just the collection. Another team took the role of the Sorting, Composting and Transfer Station. It checked every “shipment” and looked for mistakes, just as happens in a real system. The children saw that a sorting mistake made at the source is discovered later at the sorting station, and that every stage depends on the one before it.

The teams cooperated, talked things over and learned from their mistakes, which made the rules of separate collection easier to remember.

Separate Collection, Circular Economy and Technology, for Grades 5–8

With the students in grades 5–8, we had a longer discussion. We talked about separate collection and why correct sorting matters for materials to be recycled. We also talked about the circular economy, where materials return to the cycle instead of ending up as trash, and waste becomes a resource.

We also discussed the role of technology in a modern sanitation system. Waste collection today is no longer just a truck and a crew. It means modern vehicles, organization, traceability and an infrastructure that works together with the community.

Recycled Cardboard Bins, Assembled and Decorated by the Children

With the support of the Rossmann Group, the school will receive special bins made of recycled cardboard for collecting paper and plastic. The children will assemble and decorate them themselves during handicraft classes. This way, every class will have its own collection bins, for which the students will feel responsible.

The Rossmann Group makes corrugated cardboard packaging and paper, and operates in Romania through Romcarton and the Ambro factory in Suceava. The bins the children put together from recycled cardboard show, in practice, what the circular economy means, which we also talked about with the students.

Meeting the Waste Collection Truck

One of the most anticipated moments was the meeting with the waste collection truck. The children climbed into the driver’s cab, discovered the equipment and saw up close how modern waste collection works. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen up close a vehicle they only knew from the street. Their curiosity showed how important it is for sanitation jobs to be known and appreciated.

An Experience That Continues After Green Week

So that what the children learned stays visible in everyday life, the school received containers for separate collection. It also received a 2.5-meter bilingual information board dedicated to the rules of correct sorting. The board is meant for everyone: students, teachers and visitors to the school.

Thank You

We thank the Waldorf School in Târgu Mureș, the teachers and, above all, the children for their curiosity, energy and involvement. Their enthusiasm shows that the future of separate collection is in good hands.

We thank ADI Ecolect Mureș for their support and collaboration, and the Rossmann Group for supporting this project.

Sylevy Cleaning will continue to organize educational activities like this, because a clean city is built together, with every generation.