A plastics recycling workshop inaugurated in Nizhnevartovsk with the support of SIBUR
25 february 2022
A plastics recycling workshop created within the framework of the "Recycling Workshop" project was officially inaugurated on February 25 in Nizhnevartovsk’s Secondary School 2 (at 9A, Pionerskaya St). For local residents, this will be an opportunity to learn about the possibilities for recycling plastics and to handcraft various items from recycled materials. The project is being implemented by Uspekh (Success), a Youth Initiatives Support Foundation, as part of SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program.
The recycling workshop comes complete with all the necessary equipment needed for the full cycle of plastics recycling. The plastics recycling conveyor consists of two components: a shredder and a thermosetting molding machine. The former shreds plastic bottle caps, while the latter one melts recyclable materials and molds them into brand new finished products.
Andrey Fedotovsky, Director of the Department of State Policy and Regulation in the Area of Management of Manufacturing and Consumption Waste at the Russian Federation Ministry for Natural Resources, sent his greetings to the participants and guests of the inaugural event. In his address, he pointed out that one of the main goals of the state’s environmental education policy is being able to show children and young people the options that exist for polymers recycling through their own hands-on experience, and to get them interested in becoming a part of an emerging environmental community:
"We are happy to note that non-profit organizations have become increasingly involved in generating such initiatives enabling anyone to get acquainted with the process of waste recycling, see the full cycle of plastics recovery and recycling, and make new products out of recycled materials with their own hands". <...> The Recycling Workshop project serves to promote an important social idea and is set to nurture in the younger generation the culture of waste management, caring attitude to one’s environment, and to help them develop proper eco-habits.”
Vyacheslav Zolov, advisor to the CEO, and chairman of the grassroot level union organization at JSC SiburTyumenGaz, also made a speech at the opening ceremony, noting that SIBUR sees it as its priority to assist with developing a circular economic system based on recycling and plastic waste reuse aligning it with its strategic sustainable development goals.
The Recycling Workshop is a testament to the fact that plastics can be reused again and again and be given a second lease on life. It is gratifying that increasingly more people in our communities become aware of the need to improve our environment, including by way of waste separation and polymers recycling. I hope that what we are doing today will enjoy a widespread following in our nation going forward and make a positive impact on our environment.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Olga Raisch, Principal of Evgeny Kuropatkin Secondary School No. 2, named after an Honored Builder of the Russian Federation:
It's no secret to anyone that we all depend on our environment, despite the steady progress in all areas. We are all a part of this vast and amazing system. And yet, we very often seem to forget about it. For four years running, our school has been voted the winner of the city's Eco-Leader contest. For most of our students, eco-culture is not just a buzzword term, it is their way of life. The new workshop that we have just set up at our school will undoubtedly help get even more students involved in solving environment-related issues. And, most importantly, it will provide our children with useful experience that they will gain by being able to craft items from recycled plastics with their own hands, to learn and understand firsthand that the future of our planet depends on each and every one of us. We are grateful to SIBUR Holding and the Uskpekh Foundation for launching this recycling workshop. By being involved in implementing such a project, our school will be doing outreach work, getting our local residents and students engaged in addressing environmental problems, Olga noted.
Earlier, the recycling workshop gave a series of educational master classes on recycling plastics. The purpose of these practice-centered classes was to foster the nurturing of an environment-conscious culture in the members of the younger generation. More than a hundred school students took part in the workshops over a period of three days.
The Recycling Workshop is a comprehensive environmental project aimed at developing a framework for separate collection and recycling of plastic waste, as well as at helping build a lasting attitude towards recycled plastic as an important resource for manufacturing new products. It is comprised of several lines of activity including establishing recycling workshops in the regions where SIBUR operates, holding environmental contests and other events with a view to developing an eco-culture. The very first recycling workshop was opened in December 2020 in Tobolsk followed by the second one in Dzerzhinsk in April 2021. In 2021, similar workshops opened in Nizhnevartovsk and Tomsk. The workshops offer comprehensive master classes on recycling used polymers into new useful products.
To join the project’s environmental community, visit us on VKontakte and Instagram.
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The Recycling Workshop is a socio-environmental project that has been under implementation since 2020 through the efforts of the "Uspekh" youth initiative support foundation as part of SIBUR's social investment program, the Formula for Good Deeds. The Formula for Good Deeds, SIBUR's social investment program, has been under implementation since February 2016, in all key cities where the company operates focusing on six key areas: urban development, education and science, sports and healthy living, environmental protection, culture, and volunteering.