In partnership with Ecomaison, nearly 200 elementary school in the Académie de Versailles are involved in an educational project on the reuse and recycling of toys and games. This year, the partnership has been extended to more than 50 volunteer nursery schools in the Académie.
Conceived around a flagship initiative to collect toys from families, from November 20, 2023 to January 22, 2024, this project is part of a global approach to teaching solidarity and sustainable development, in conjunction with players in the social and solidarity economy.
Ecomaison and the toy reuse and recycling network
Since 2022, Ecomaison has been approved by the public authorities to organize the collection, repair, reuse and recycling of toys and games under this new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme.
The eco-organization takes charge of the end-of-life of all used toys - outdoor games (tricycles, garden sheds, buckets and spades, etc.), board games and puzzles, indoor toys, gift toys - whatever their material: plastic, wood, metal or textile. Electrical and electronic toys are handled by other dedicated eco-organizations. By 2024, Ecomaison aims to collect over 30,000 tonnes of used toys for recycling, and to direct a further 10,000 tonnes towards re-use.
The toys will be collected by seventeen social and solidarity economy (SSE) structures, partners of Ecomaison, to be resold at solidarity prices or donated. They will bring joy to other children, while supporting the work of staff on integration schemes.
Donation and reuse are major challenges for this new sector. Over 15 tonnes of toys were collected during the 2022-2023 school year. 66% were redistributed at Christmas time and 34% were recycled by Ecomaison's network of partners.
The educational approach and the solidarity toy drive in schools
Taking advantage of children's interest in a familiar object - the toy - this solidarity collection aims to develop an educational project on donation, reuse and waste management prevention. Education for sustainable development, at all stages of schooling, is a fundamental mission for schools. It means learning in and for a world
in transition.
It is at the heart of education for sustainable development, and reinforces learning through meaningful action.
The 200 or so schools taking part are spread across the 4 départements of the Académie de Versailles: Yvelines (78), Essonne (91), Hauts-de-Seine (92), Val-d'Oise (95).
This project will mobilize teaching teams and students in a project associated with the toy drive to :
- Developing students' learning and skills ;
- Work on civic engagement and citizenship by mobilizing children's interest in an everyday object: the toy;
- Start or deepen a global approach to sustainable development;
- Teamwork and building a student pathway (creating links between cycles and levels).
Since November 13, 2023, Ecomaison has been providing schools with a communication kit and a collection bin for toys donated by families. Teachers will be provided with an educational booklet to help them develop a range of skills relating to fundamental knowledge and pupils' ability to get involved, and to mobilize a global approach to sustainable development in the school. The toys collected in this way will be collected by a social economy association partnering Ecomaison, to be resold at a fair price, redistributed to other children or recycled if they are too damaged. This flagship partnership will run until mid-January 2024.