14-01-2019
FCT NOVA was the great winner of Novo Verde Packaging Universities Award for the Lisbon Region.
The work submitted to the competition, entitled "Audit and raise awareness for a more recycled packaging", was coordinated by Professor Graça Martinho (Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering) and developed by a group of students linked to the management of four associations at FCT NOVA (Ecozoic, NAS / AEFCT, NEEC / AEFCT and FACIT), namely Cláudio Duarte (Integrated Master in Environmental Engineering-MIEA), Diogo Sousa (MIEA), João Campôa (MIEA), João Veloso (Integrated Master in Computer Science-MIEI) and Quelvina Forces (MIEA).
"This project united several associations, and even the institution itself, in a joint effort to promote enthusiasm in building this School as the number one in recycling and waste management," said João Campôa. "We hope it will motivate our colleagues to realize that there are things going on and that we are working so sustainability can be one of the reasons to choose FCT NOVA," added Cláudio Duarte.
The work consisted in auditing the waste produced in the Campus (undifferentiated and selective) and a proposal for action measures to reduce and recycle packaging. The group will receive a prize of € 7500, which will be used to implement some of the action measures proposed in the application, of which the following stand out:
- Campaigns for reduction: "Disposable at FCT? No thanks! "; "Dem@teri@lize"; "Bring your own canteen";
- Recycling campaigns: extension of the ecopoints network; creation of an APP that identifies the closest location to the correct disposal of waste; "100% separation in the Restore".
"In the first results, which we have already announced, there are 35% of recyclables that are not being recovered, which means that there is still a lot of work to do. This is the potential we want to optimize ", assumes Graça Martinho.
The team is grateful for the logistical support of Almada City Hall and AMARSUL and the collaboration in the characterization campaigns for waste from the DCEA / MARE waste group - Prof. Ana Silveira, Mário Ramos, Eng. Pedro Santos, Ana Gomes and Eng. Luana Boavida - and MIEA 3rd year students - Bernardo Antunes, Luísa Silva, Mariana Baptista, Mariana Rato, Miguel Pires, Patrícia Henriques and Rita Sargento. Special thanks also to the Technical Support Division of FCT NOVA, in the person of Eng. Cláudia Saque, and to all the teachers, non-teachers and students who answered the Eco-Escolas questionnaire.
The challenge, promoted by the entity Novo Verde - Sociedade Gestora de Residuos de Embalagens, SA, intends, in addition of sensitizing to the environmental cause, to support the implementation of projects that stand out for their relevance and potential for applying sustainable practices within the Higher education.
