Eco-solutions: Irpin lyceum students gather 150 kilos of plastic caps to purchase military drone

In the Kyiv region, as part of the "Kryla" [Wings in Ukrainian – ed.] campaign, schoolchildren of the Irpin Lyceum "Mriia" collected about 150 kg of plastic caps to buy a drone for Ukrainian defenders with the funds received.

The Irpin City Council reported this.

What is the problem?

As of today, 22% of plastic waste is being improperly disposed of, as it:

• ends up in landfills,
• is burned in open areas,
• enters the environment.

Experts believe that since 1950, approximately 4.9 million tons of plastic have been deposited in landfills and the natural environment.

According to the UN, an alarming amount of plastic, equivalent to 2,000 garbage truckloads, enters the Earth's oceans, rivers, and lakes daily, posing a significant threat.

In addition, plastic production is the most energy- and raw material-intensive process in the petrochemical industry. The production of plastic in the EU is equal to the financing of Russia's war against Ukraine.

What is the solution?

In the Kyiv region, as part of the "Kryla" campaign, students of the "Mriia" lyceum in Irpin collected about 150 kilos of plastic caps.

How does it work?

Children started collecting plastic caps at the end of summer.

Then, the caps were sent for processing, and the funds received would be transferred to purchasing a Ukrainian-made UAV.

According to the city council, about 300 kilos have already been sent since the start of the campaign.

^{Photo: Irpin Academic Lyceum "Mriia"}

"But this is not enough for the production of even one drone, so the campaign continues; we continue to work to bring the long-awaited victory closer," the lyceum noted.

One can take the caps to the school in Irpin, located at 10 Tyschenka Street.

^{Photo: Irpin Academic Lyceum "Mriia"}

For reference:

In 2015,  the "O.V.E.S" Charitable Fund initiated the social action "Dobro zhmeniami," within the framework of which about 120 tons of plastic caps were collected, the funds from which were handed over for recycling were directed to pay for prosthetics of ATO [Anti-terrorist operation or ATO was a term commonly used by the media, the government of Ukraine, OSCE, and other foreign institutions to refer to the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions that were occupied by Russian military forces and pro-Russian separatists – ed.] soldiers.

In 2023, the "O.V.E.S" Charitable Fund, together with its partners, decided to resume the action on the collection of secondary raw materials, starting with the resumption of the collection of plastic caps. And direct all the funds received from the handover for processing to the purchase of Ukrainian-made UAVs that meet all the parameters that ensure the solution of combat tasks at the front.

Action potential: Plastic collection

When you recycle 1 kg of plastic bottle caps, you can get around 12 hryvnias, while 1 ton can earn you 12,000 hryvnias.

The organizers estimated that the yearly amount of "bottle caps" to be collected, considering the broad range of participants and the potential to recycle them in countries with a high population of Ukrainian immigrants, is 200 tons. This initiative also has the added social benefit of bringing people together and promoting environmental responsibility.

Moreover, residents of Bucha are urged to bring caps to "EcoHearts" and thus save the lives of community children.

In addition, a resettled woman from Donetsk, Olha Lekova, created the Recast Plastic project. Together with the team, which includes IDPs from Donetsk region and Luhansk region, she makes furniture from recycled plastic and equips shelters with them throughout Ukraine.