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While the strict pandemic conditions are just behind, the effects of the wastes produced in the process on climate change continue. A global survey shows that 2 in 3 people are concerned about the impact of climate change. The materials created with pandemic waste in Turkey, the 10th country on the list of concerns, add a new breath to the future.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.

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ISTANBUL (TR) - With climate change making itself felt more and more each day, the environmental effects of the wastes created by the materials used in the strict pandemic conditions we have just left behind are also on the agenda. With the upcoming summer months and rising temperatures, people's concerns also increase. Research conducted by IPSOS in 30 countries shows that two out of three (68%) people are concerned about the effects of climate change in the world. While South Africa, Chile and Italy are in the top 3 in the country ranking, Turkey, where 3 out of 4 people (76%) are concerned about climate change, is in the 10th place.

70% of global survey respondents believe that government policies alone are not enough to combat climate change, and individuals need to take action. The students of the Eraslan School in Izmir, who started working to encourage civil initiative and raise awareness on this issue, implement the transformation project in which they evaluate waste masks. With the Green Future initiative they established as part of the GençBizz Entrepreneurship Program, high school students gradually disinfect waste masks and produce waterproof bags they call Mascase. Reducing the mark left by the masks on the world, the students also encourage using glass bottles instead of plastic by signing a durable product.

They produced bags from waste masks

Eraslan School Green Future team, who stated that they set out with the idea of ​​a sustainable world, made the following statement about their initiative: “Within the scope of the project, we focused on masks, which turned into a huge waste problem with approximately 5 billion daily usage. We decided to use these masks, which take 450 years to dissolve in nature, in the textile industry. In the process that we started with the disinfection processes of waste masks, we first separated the masks from their wires and turned them into the fabric. We started to produce the bags, the prototypes we prepared by sewing and designed to carry glass bottles, under the Mascase brand.”

They developed their business reflexes with the entrepreneurship program

Noting that they sold some of their ventures to raise capital during the production phase, the Green Future team shared the following words: “In this process, besides getting ideas from many professionals from the business world to bring our products to the market, Young Success is the owner of the GençBizz High School Entrepreneurship Program, which has been implemented in 123 countries for nearly 50 years. We received mentorship from the volunteers of the Education Foundation. In this way, we realized our strengths in entrepreneurship, increased our financial literacy, and strengthened our ability to be a team.”

The computer bag and umbrella cover are next

Eraslan School Biology teacher Yeşim Ak, who stated that they aim to produce laptop bags and umbrella covers in the next step of this step taken by Eraslan students in the field of sustainable textile, shared the process of students' participation in the program with the following words: "Entrepreneurship, economy, international relations, philosophy, artificial intelligence and art in our school. In addition to increasing the intellectual equipment of our students with elective courses such as history, we also support their awareness with such projects. In the program, which is recognized by the European Union Lifelong Learning Program and the General Directorate of European Union Enterprises and attended by more than 250 companies, we took part in the program with our Eraslan Green Innovation and Green Future initiatives. We are proud of the success of our students. We will continue to encourage them for a more livable future.”