Waste management is a crucial issue for the livability and health of cities, and educating young people on sustainable waste management can become a powerful tool to encourage responsible behaviours from schools to the wider community.
We discussed this on 12 November in Palermo with teachers, educators, youth workers and students during the national GROWS meeting. Many neighbourhoods in Palermo have adopted separate waste collection, but in several areas the practice is still not widespread, and the number of recycling points remains insufficient.
Teachers agree that a social and cultural change is needed to address Palermo’s waste challenge, and that education plays a key role in encouraging this change and supporting schools in becoming greener.
For the past two years, GROWS has been working with the education and vocational training sector (VET) to promote responsible waste management and to support trainers in creating a green education action plan.
GROWS has developed a series of tools to help introduce sustainability into different school activities:
- A toolkit for developing a green strategy, designed to help teachers, school staff, and students make their school more sustainable;
- An e-learning platform, an online space that includes an Intelligent Tutor, lesson plans, and open educational resources;
- A training programme on waste management for teachers and classes.
On 17 November 2025, a second GROWS meeting at the University of Social Sciences in Warsaw, Poland.
Discussions focused on ecological transition within education and student practices, and comparing two initiatives: one in Poland and one in Palermo. Marisa Toto, teacher at L.S.S. "Ernesto Basile" in Palermo, presented the sustainable practices implemented by her school, including the creation of a green committee and the development of environmental awareness workshops.
With GROWS, schools, teachers, young people, and professionals from across Europe committed to fostering a more conscious environmental culture now have new tools and educational resources, and are part of a network.
Change comes through daily action and the education of the younger generation: GROWS demonstrates that, with the right support, this transformation is possible and already underway.
To know more about the project, visit GROWS’s website, explore its resources on the e-learning platform, and follow us on Facebook.
GROWS - Moving Towards a Green Transition through Sustainable Waste Management Education in the VET Sector, is an Erasmus+ project (KA2, Cooperation partnership in VET).
Partners:
- Sysco Polska Sp. zo.o. (Coordinator, Poland)
- KMOP – Education and Innovation Hub (Greece)
- Centre for advancement of research and development in educational technology LTD – CARDET (Cyprus)
- LAND Impresa Sociale (Italy)
- Rightchallenge – Associação (Portugal)
- INNOVADE LI LTD (Cyprus)
- Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Association (Bulgaria)
For further information, visit the project page or contact Ginevra Passiglia: ginevra.passiglia@impresasocialeland.org