Date/time
Date(s) - 15/12/2022 - 29/06/2025
00:00
Project type
Selected participants
Summary of the project idea:
Track-Map-Clean project aims at raising awareness regarding the environmental issues produced by inadequate waste disposal. During this project we will develop educational and digital tools for youth workers, NGOs and youth, in order to foster eco-friendly practices and encourage innovative solutions to overcome environmental problems. The first result will be a Guide aimed at supporting youth workers, trainers, NGOs in their work with youth to provide them good practices regarding the usage of digital tools for environmental protection and a training plan meant to target the development of green skills. The second result will be an APP, called Track-Map-Clean which has the purpose for the users to identify places where waste is disposed inadequate, pin it on the map with the purpose that other users that have capacity (individuals, NGOs, public bodies) to come and clean the area.
Local events
In December, we held a Christmas workshop for high school students in Bratislava, which focused on making Christmas decorations from waste material. The students made candle holders from old bottles and cans, made cardboard gingerbread houses and stars from aluminium candle jars. The workshop was complemented by a presentation on how we can make worthy decorations or tasteful gifts out of waste.
Multiplier event in Slovakia
The project’s final events were multiplier events where we shared information about the project and its outcomes with the public. We promoted the sustainability and utilization of the results by engaging other associations, youth workers, and educational professionals who are interested in integrating these outcomes into their activities.
Track-Map-Clean partnees meeting in Vigo, Spain
In the end of September, we met with all project partners in the Spanish city of Vigo. We reviewed all phases of the project, evaluated the current state of the publication, which is almost finished, and planned the next steps. We are ready and encouraged by the active participation of all partners to start the next steps in the project. We are awaiting the completion of the handbook and training plan and the creation of an audio guide. In the process of all these activities, an application is also being developed and improved, which will give organizations, but also the public, the opportunity to pin the place where the landfill is located, so that this place can be cleaned. After a productive meeting, we helped to lighten the nature and went trash picking in a nearby area, by the sea.
LTTA – Learning Teaching Training Activity in Portugal
In May, 15 youth workers from five consortium countries gathered in Portugal to participate in the Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (LTTA). This event was a significant opportunity for them to explore new tools and strategies for addressing environmental challenges.
During the LTTA, participants engaged with activities from a newly developed learning tool designed to solve environmental problems. Through these activities, they gained insights into environmentally friendly practices and were encouraged to innovate solutions for overcoming environmental issues.
The event also featured a vibrant cultural night where participants enjoyed diverse cultural exchanges, formed new friendships, and acquired valuable skills for their future endeavors. This training served as a preparatory phase for their upcoming local events, where each youth worker will organize an event to share their newfound knowledge and experiences.
Additionally, participants had the opportunity to test the APP Track Map Clean, providing valuable feedback for its improvement. This hands-on experience allowed them to engage with technology aimed at promoting environmental awareness and action.
We look forward to seeing the impact of their efforts as they bring these insights back to their communities and inspire positive environmental change!
Our podcast is live now !
Listen to the podcast series of the project. Especially for those of you who are busy, we have brought the opportunity to learn via listening. Alongside the information guidebook, Track-Map-Clean team restlessly continues to raise awareness of improper waste disposal, addressing today’s most important environmental issues. The podcast is available in Slovak, Italian, Romanian, Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Context and relevance:
The EU Data Centre on Waste compiles waste data at European level. According to data for 2010 for 29 European countries (i.e. EU-28 and Norway), around 60 % of the waste generated consisted of mineral waste and soil, largely from construction and demolition activities and mining. For metal, paper and cardboard, wood, chemical and medical waste and animal and vegetal wastes, each waste type ranged from 2 % to 4 % of the total. Around 10 % of the total waste generated in Europe consists of what is known as ‘municipal waste’ — waste generated mainly by households, and to a lesser extent by small businesses, and by public buildings such as schools and hospitals.
In 2012, 481 kg of municipal solid waste was generated per person in the 33 member countries of the European Environment Agency (EEA). There is a slight downward trend from 2007 onwards, which can be explained partly by the economic crisis affecting Europe since 2008.
The slight dip observed in municipal waste generated in the EU might have helped reduce the environmental impacts of waste, to some extent. However, while waste quantities are important, waste management also plays a key role. Overall, in the EU, an increasing amount of waste is recycled and a decreasing amount is sent to landfills. For municipal waste, the share of recycled or composted waste in the EU-27 increased from 31 % in 2004 to 41 % in 2012.
Despite these achievements, large discrepancies still exist between countries. Forexample, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland each send less than 2 % of their municipal waste to landfills, while Croatia, Latvia and Malta each landfill more than 90 %. Most of the countries with low landfilling rates have high recycling and incineration rates, both above 30 % of their total municipal waste.
Youth have both special concerns and special responsibilities in relation to the environment. A number of environmental risks and hazards disproportionately affect young people, who have to live for an extended period with the deteriorating environment bequeathed to them by earlier generations. Young people will be compelled to engage in new forms of action and activism that will generate effective responses to ecological challenges.
Target groups:
Direct target group: youth workers, trainers, NGOs etc.
Indirect target group: youth, environmental activists
Objectives:
. Create educational tools to support youth workers in their trainings targeting the development of green skills of young people;
. Raise awareness of the environmental issues caused by waste, among young people;
. Create digital solutions to environmental problems in the youth work field;
. Foster youth civic participation in the development of innovative solutions to overcome environmental problems.
Implementation activities:
. Coordination & internal communication
. Sharing and promotion (online and offline)
. Monitoring and ensuring the quality
. Risk management
. Creation of a Guide: Digitalization for environmental protection
. Design an APP: Track – Map – Clean
. organise a LTTA for youth workers (Portugal)
. organise local workshops for youth
. 3 Transnational meetings (Slovakia, Spain, Romania)
. 5 Multiplier events (Slovakia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Italy)
Results:
. Guide: Digitalization for environmental protection
. APP: Track – Map – Clean
. 10 staff members involved in the creation of the result and attending the TPMs (2 per
partner)
. 15 youth workers organising environmental local workshops (3 per partner)
. 200 youth participating in the local workshops and testing the APP (40 per country)
. 150 participants in the multiplier events (30 per country)
WEBSITE OF THE PROJECT: https://track-map-clean.eu/
