This is an interview done with the manager of the company ZERA in Bulgaria that aims to cut single-use plastic cups in kindergartens. The original interview in Bulgarian is done by the website https://detskitegradini.com. Link for the whole interview in Bulgarian is available here.
The person which is behind the project "I choose the reusable glasses", is Sabina Maximova - economist by profession and vocation, activist in the international movement "Free from plastic", ambassador of Greenpeace for the removal of plastic cups from Kindergartens in Bulgaria and, above all, a concerned mother who leaves a mark with her socially significant idea. See what she shares specifically about kindergartens:
It all started in my older daughter's kindergarten. At the parental meeting, parents were asked to wear disposable glasses for children to drink water. The required quantities of glasses were startling - about 150 glasses a day for 30 children. And so - every day. I am driven by the desire of my children to live clean, to grow responsible and adequate in their own time, in which essential vital resources, such as clean water and clean food, are beginning to be lacking.
I read what was described in the Kindergarten Ordinance and found that no one was under any obligation to use disposable cups. On the contrary, the glasses should be individual for each child in the group.
Then I found stainless steel glasses and at the next parent meeting I suggested engraving glasses with a different picture for each child in the group. The parents united in the idea and ended up throwing away disposable plastic cups forever.
Then I found the support of environmental organizations through the Global Plastic Free Campaign. Thus, the citizens' initiative has grown to become a 'I choose the reusable glasses' campaign, currently being implemented by the Community Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (OCOSUR) - Varna, and a partnership for the implementation and production of ZERA glasses ( the company I started as a social project inspired by the need to come up with a solution to the problem of plastic pollution).
The campaign aims to encourage more parents, teachers and kindergarteners to reflect on the huge benefits of switching reusable cups - a more beautiful children's playground, a cleaner environment for children, and without constantly filled with plastic buckets, children who they drink water regularly and as much as they want, the huge savings for the kindergarten budget, daily and practically applied environmental protection, which is otherwise part of the official children's educational program.
Already, 2500 children from all over the country have switched to a personal reusable cup with a unique symbol. To date, there are already 30 kindergartens in over 13 districts of the country. Children enjoy higher quality education, conserve nature, drink more water and last but not least - they save between 20 and 80 BGN each day in every kindergarten, depending on its capacity.
And it doesn't cost more financially. Half the price of disposable plastic cups otherwise spent in a year. In other words, if for one year each child spends 18 EUR on disposable cups and this is an annual fixed expense, then for metal cups the price is half - about 7 EUR per piece. This is a one-time investment. End of cost, end of waste.
Image source: Pixabay
