The “Packaging, what a fantastic adventure” project is an initiative of Dracma Educational and the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation, of which Poplast is ambassador.
The project was created with the aim of telling primary school children throughout Italy what packaging is, how it is evolving, how much it matters and how it affects our lives.
The programme includes online and in-presence workshops where children are stimulated to think about, for example, how many types of packaging they meet in a normal day and how this packaging is useful (or not) for our lives. What would happen if we would not have packaging? Fruit, meat and food in general would have a much shorter life span, they could not be transported over long distances and we would not have many of the things that we normally find on our tables today. If we then think of areas of the world where there is not a supermarket on every street block, as here, finding food (and more) would become even more difficult.
Of course, a large part of the project also aims to make children aware of recycling and the proper disposal of materials.
13,000 enthusiastic children
The activities presented are engaging and the subject is really something we ‘touch with our hands’ every day, so the children are reacting with enormous enthusiasm and the project is spreading even more than originally expected.
Through immersive lessons, real stories and creative workshops, the children are learning how crucial packaging is in our lives. An example? Making a greenhouse out of recycled material for growing fruit and vegetables, but also simpler and more essential things like learning to recognise and interpret the symbols for proper recycling on packaging.
All this can change the daily habits of each of us, creating a critical mindset, a conscious attitude and promoting a better future.
The European Community called for the challenge of sustainable packaging to involve schools as much as possible in the 23/24 school year. The aim is to activate ‘the minds of today for the future of tomorrow’.
In the immediate term, it is necessary to educate to awareness, to build an ethical, sustainable, proactive future. And it will be the students of today who will continue on the path, already taken by many governments and industries, towards the continuous improvement of packaging, which we sorely need for the preservation and transport of food, objects and materials.
Poplast has also contributed in spreading the culture of packaging in schools, with classroom meetings where our experts have told attentive and interested children how plastic can be useful for sustainable development. (here the article).
From age-old to state-of-the-art packaging
Today, packaging has come a long way from the terracotta pots that, as the first example of packaging in history, were used for cooking, preserving, transporting objects and food. Technologies for the production of sustainable packaging are pioneering and are exploring new polymers and procedures every day.
The industry awaits the new technicians, engineers and specialists of tomorrow to continue this very important research.
To reach the circular economy goals by 2030, packaging is crucial.
Let us all work in this direction.
You can stay up-to-date on ‘Packaging what a fantastic adventure’ by following the Instagram page that the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation has dedicated to the project
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