Environment: 22 Schools Join Forces for New Recycling Pilot in Mauritius

A new pilot project has been launched to introduce paper recycling in schools across Mauritius, with the aim of promoting environmental responsibility among students. The initiative, a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment, will involve 22 schools in its initial phase, with plans for a nationwide rollout.

The project will see students from eleven primary and eleven secondary schools collect waste paper and cardboard.

This material will then be processed by the company WeCycle Ltd into new products like kraft paper and egg cartons. So far, the project has already recovered 5.5 tonnes of waste.

Student and Ministerial Involvement

The programme was officially launched with a symbolic ceremony in Beau-Bassin, where students from the Special Education Needs Resource and Development Centre (SENRDC), accompanied by the ABAIM group, performed a song with the theme “reservi, redwir, resikle, repanse, recrée pou protez nou planet” (reuse, reduce, recycle, rethink, recreate to protect our planet). Students also gave a demonstration of selective sorting.

The Education Minister, Mahend Gungapersad, praised the initiative, highlighting the importance of teaching civic responsibility from a young age.

“This starts at school,” he stated, adding that through simple actions like sorting, children become “the best ambassadors for cleanliness and civility.”

He stressed that indiscipline and incivility, such as littering, are a heavy burden on the country.

A Shift in Behaviour

Lucile Jackson, manager of WeCycle Ltd, said the project goes “far beyond recycling.” She described it as a “true civic education” that empowers young people to act for a “more sustainable Mauritius.”

Environment Minister Rajesh Bhagwan echoed this sentiment, calling for a change in public behaviour, which he described as “undisciplined.”

The long-term ambition is to expand the programme to all schools before extending it to Mauritian households, aiming to eventually collect 50 tonnes of recyclable waste.

The ministers and company representatives believe the project is a crucial step towards a more patriotic and environmentally conscious society.

Source: l’Express