On May 14, a press conference was held at Lviv School 98 - the winner of the All-Ukrainian project "Bag". During the month, students sewed a record 3,160 eco-bags and took first place in the competition among young people from all regions of Ukraine. 21,000 participants competed for the main prize.

The event was attended by the President of the International Youth Movement "School Recycling World" Julia Markhel, Sales Director of the Lviv division of PepsiCo Ukraine Vitaliy Sirant, Head of the Sykhiv-Lychakiv Education Department of the Humanitarian Policy Department of the Lviv City Council Zoryana Honko, school project organizers, representatives media and students.

"We thank the participants for spreading the idea of abandoning plastic bags, children - for their activity and creativity, teachers and parents - for assistance, help and motivation. Pupils of school 98 broke last year's project record twice, showed the world that regardless of age together we can create our eco-future here and now, develop a culture of caring for the environment, starting with simple daily habits, starting with ourselves, with our thinking and actions », - comments the President of the International Youth Movement "School Recycling World" Julia Marchel.

During the project, students made bags, painted them, decorated with applications, cutouts, ornaments, creating real works of art. The older ones sewed the bags themselves, the younger ones were helped by their parents, relatives, and some even four-legged friends. In total, 658 students in the Lviv region joined the competition, sewing a total of 4,831 bags. The winning school received a gold diploma, the main prize - a printer for sublimation printing and delicious gifts for students.

Vitaliy Sirant, Head of PepsiCo Ukraine's Lviv Sales Department, and Yulia Markhel, President of the School Recycling World International Youth Movement

Head of the Lviv sales department of PepsiCo Ukraine Vitaly Sirant in his speech noted: “PepsiCo Ukraine is implementing the practice of sustainable agriculture on farms where ingredients for products are grown. Every year we reduce the consumption of natural resources per ton of products due to the introduction of the latest technologies. The company strives to create a world in which plastic packaging will never become garbage, supporting the idea of a circular economy. The reflection of our ideas and aspirations is realized on the All-Ukrainian project “Bag. Over 30,000 participants took part in the project in two years. I would like to thank the International Youth Movement "School Recycling World" for the lightning implementation of this idea. All participants and coordinators are engaged in a very strong cause, inspire others and set the pace not only for the school and the region, but also for the whole of Ukraine. "

The project was organized by the International Youth Movement "School Recycling World" with the assistance of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Center for Extracurricular Education, the National Ecological and Naturalistic Center and with support. The general partner of the initiative was PepsiCo Ukraine.

Head of the Sykhiv-Lychakiv Education Department of the Education Department of the Humanitarian Policy Department of the Lviv City Council Zoryana Honko added: “School №98 is inspired by ideas, students have already participated in many competitions. We are happy with such social initiative, concern for the environment and environmental awareness. This project also provided team building training to organizers and students. I want to thank the school, the team of teachers, parents and children and congratulate you on another victory. "

The second All-Ukrainian project "Bag" was attended by 21,873 participants from 24 regions, sewing 47,269 bags. Collective applications were filled out by 313 educational institutions and 463 teachers. Last year, the number of bags was 18,441. Participants posted works on social networks with the hashtags #bagsSRW #PackageNoNotreben #schoolrecyclingworld #bags.

Project coordinator at the school Perskova Irina noted that children plan to sell bags at school and city fairs, hold flash mobs on eco-topics on the Internet, educational campaigns near supermarkets, and in September donate along with stationery for students from socially vulnerable categories. “Students really like eco-bags created by their own hands, so they already use them in everyday life and as gifts. The bags are not only practical and help to preserve the environment, but also make children visible in the dark, as they are decorated with reflective tape, which, in turn, reduces injuries on the road. Many students painted them on eco-themes, depicting a polluted forest, a planet and a garbage sorting cycle. Now their bags speak to the world and express the position of the owners on the preservation of the environment, "said Ms. Irina.

The purpose of the competition is to spread the idea of abandoning plastic. A few hours or even minutes of using packages end up in a hundred years at the landfill. The average Ukrainian uses about 500 packages a year. If you count the population, then about 20 billion packages are thrown away per year. Very soon the bags will be a full-fledged replacement for plastic bags. Recently, the Verkhovna Rada Committee supported the bill №2051-1 on their restriction, distribution will be punished by fines. Exceptions will be only packages used for meat, fish, bulk products. That is why the International Youth Movement advises to start the transition to eco-bags today.

Although the competition has reached the finals, the project is still ongoing. The team of the International Youth Movement "School Recycling World" thanks everyone who joined the project and encourages to continue to sew bags and use them every day, to create a new ecological future together.

Details on the site www.schoolrecyclingworld.org.