The high school graduates from the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Marlene Lämmerer, Anna Thöni and Miriam Wohlmutter, dealt with the topic of “waste avoidance in everyday life” in their high school thesis. The three students from the environment and resource management branch were also in contact with some extracurricular companies, such as the Liezen waste management association, the Murau brewery, regional communities and the population in the Liezen district. The aim was to find solutions and to demonstrate practically how waste avoidance can be implemented in everyday life in rural areas.
Implementation and savings potential
The high school graduates looked after three partner families who documented the waste generated in the household by different fractions over a period of several months in order to analyze the volume by fraction and identify savings potential. The families were also able to test alternative cleaning and detergents, some of which they made themselves, in terms of efficiency and user-friendliness. At two very successful swap markets in the municipality of Irdning-Donnersbachtal, each with around 100 participants, clothes and accessories were exchanged without any monetary outlay. 1,211 items of clothing were donated, of which 559 changed hands. By exchanging clothing, around 6,000kg of CO 2 be saved compared to buying new. The media response in the region for the exchange markets and the initiative was also very great.
Toolkit
The information collected from our own experiences as well as the findings from events, tests and calculations including savings tips are now summarized in a toolkit and accessible to the public. The high school graduates' diploma work and the activities were supervised by Mag. Kathrin Blanzano and were awarded by the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein parents' association at the high school students' farewell.
At the end of the article you will find the link to the toolkit “Waste prevention in everyday life”.
