CONTEXTWaste is an issue that affects us all. We all produce waste: on average, each of the 500 million people living in the EU throws away around half a tonne of household rubbish every year. This is on top of huge amounts of waste generated from activities such as manufacturing and construction, while water supply and energy production generate another 95 million tonnes. Altogether, the European Union produces up to 3 billion tonnes of waste every year. This partnership will involve 3 main directions: 1. Making an objective analysis of the current policies and situation related to waste management in each country, thus being able to identify common and differentiating aspects, which will enable us to organize the project activities and adapt the methodologies accordingly. 2. Activities with students to promote reduction of garbage, re-use of existing objects and avoidance of overconsumption, and recycling materials to turn them into useful or aesthetic objects. 3. All the way through the project, we will be working on a guide to waste management in schools and households that our schools can implement and share at the end of the project. Therefore, the third aim is to create a school-based system of eco waste management for the creation of which we will collaborate with the municipality and NGOS.OBJECTIVESThe project addresses a general problem that has been focused on at the level of EU, but which has not found all the solutions. While we will not solve all the problems related to waste management or eliminate its effects on the environment, we intend to make a conscious effort to educate young people into becoming more environmentally responsible citizens.The project specific objectives are:1. to promote responsible and active citizenship among students2. to develop the students’ environmental consciousness3. to give students and teachers the chance to analyse current practices in waste management and make positive changes4. to turn the schools into ECO-friendly schools through the implementation of the waste management programme5. to improve intercultural awareness, promote tolerance, mutual respect and understanding6. to develop students’ creativity, critical thinking and team work skillsACTIVITIESIn order to achieve these aims, we plan 5 transnational events, intertwined with local activities on specific topics:C1 – Waste management policies – statistics, regulatory acts, laws (joint-staff training)C2 – REDUCE – Effects on the environment of bad disposal methods C3 – REUSE – Campaign to promote reuse of materialsC4 – RECYCLE and RECREATE – Discover the mine in the wasteC5 – Development and implementation of school-based waste management systems (joint-staff training)PARTICIPANTSWe will have an overall number of 96 students in the partnership who are going to attend all the 3 student exchanges (C2-C4). For the 2 joint-staff training events, we will select from each school 2 people with the relevant experience for the topics, besides the coordinator who will attend both meetings. Overall, we will have a number of 24 teacher mobilities in C1 and C5.RESULTSOur project is meant to produce a series of intangible results, which consist of beneficiaries’ acquired knowledge, skills, attitudes and environmental awareness; we will promote a culture of care for the environment that all partners will embrace and abide by. Some of the tangible results include: initial and final evaluation forms completed by target groups, research and presentations about local and national policies regarding waste management, an e-magazine of environmental projects of the schools, students’ eco-diaries, surveys of local community members, art installations, e-brochure with DIY arts and crafts from recycled materials, Stop Waste Campaigns, Waste Management (WM) Programme for schoolsIMPACTFor all partner institutions, this Erasmus+ project is going to bring benefits at all levels. For project partners with previous Erasmus+ experience, this project will continue to foster the European and international dimension of the schools. By using eTwinning intensively in the project, we will also be able to identify new opportunities for collaborations on the same topics and will also extend our network of European schools.Inexperienced partners will increase their project management capacity, thus improving their exchange management and organizational skills.We all increase the student and teacher mobility and make improvements at the level of the institutionsOur institutions become more environmentally friendly, focusing on ways to improve waste management. If this is done properly, then the project will produce changes in students’ attitudes to the environment in the medium and long term. This will be carried on into their personal lives and we expect to produce changes in the community too. In this way schools will confirm their key role in the education of future generations of adults.