A meeting room is always the ideal place to dream big, especially when it comes to projects that strengthen the links between key entities for the socio-economic development of the province and the nation. Great ideas arise from these scenarios, such as the Urban Solid Waste Management (GRSU in Spanish) project, a collaboration between the Las Tunas Raw Materials Recovery Company (ERMP in Spanish) and the local university.

This initiative was launched in April 2022 and is aimed at the characterization of recyclable waste; actions that will continue until March 2025. Vivian Rosa Rodríguez Arzuaga, an engineer and research specialist at the ERMP, told 26 that they hope to collect the types of waste generated by the population, as well as by state bodies and new economic actors.

Vivian Rosa Rodríguez Arzuaga, ERMP Research Specialist.

The project "Reciclo mi Barrio" (I recycle my neighborhood) will extend these practices to all the popular councils. The processing and commercialization of this waste would be adapted to the types of industries that need it within the territory and the population in general.

"The University of Las Tunas' (ULT in Spanish) labor education and chemistry degree courses are directly involved in this project. We started at first with a total of 14 students, and as this idea progresses we hope that all the students of these two specializations will join in; they are involved in different ways, both in practical sessions in the communities and in the scientific work they are preparing for," said Rodríguez Arzuaga. 

This successful collaboration between the two institutions materialized in a national workshop in 2022, hosted by the Alma Mater in Tunisia. The second edition of this event, in 2023, featured a larger number of papers, presented by professors and students, who contributed elements on the recovery of recyclable waste and mechanisms to increase the culture of recycling.

Doctor of Science Alida Pérez Osorio, professor at ULT, is the leader of the project and assures that: "This national GRSU workshop aims to raise awareness of the procedures, the different alternatives, the ways required for the Tunisian population to achieve a culture of recycling that will transform the situation in different communities. We emphasize the areas where there are most problems with waste management".

On this occasion, the meeting was held in person, with the option for foreign researchers to share their research online. Five commissions were set up, each with a jury that evaluated the best works, with special emphasis on those carried out by students of the Bachelor's Degree in Labor Education.

BEYOND THE UNIVERSITY

Doctor in Sciences Alida Pérez Osorio, lecturer at the University of Las Tunas.

This idea not only stays in the classrooms and corridors of these institutions but also goes into the communities, with tangible results. "We have already carried out a diagnosis in the 5th and 18th popular councils of the main municipality, which has allowed us to devise a waste management strategy in the ERMP until 2030. And we started with the training of teachers, students, company officials and managers and community leaders, says the doctor of science.

"We have the notification of the people's councils and the fixed points located. We are in negotiations with the presidents of the councils and the president of the Municipal Assembly of People's Power to identify and locate the clean points that we must place in all the districts so that people can go there with the sorted waste, according to its origin, that is generated in their homes."

"We are working on organic, inorganic and hazardous waste. Those are some of the classifications taking into account that they are recyclable waste that can be used in the production processes of different industries. In these communities, you will see the baskets with the symbols of each classification, such as glass and plastic."

Their commitment to recycling is strengthened by the work they are doing together with the Construction Materials Company to start producing (from plastic wood) door frames and blinds. They are also involved in the production of composts (organic fertilizers) to benefit agricultural production, guided by research into this part of science.

A sample of what students can do based on the principles of the circular economy.