St Petersburg University recognised as undisputed leader in separate collection of e-waste
As part of the 12th International WasteTech Exhibition, an awards ceremony was held to honour the top participants in the environmental programme School of Recycling: Electronics. St Petersburg University was the winner among institutions of higher education.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, 18 of the largest institutions of higher education in Russia took part in the School of Recycling: Electronics programme, delivering up a combined total of 182 tonnes of electronics for processing. The Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Foundation for Environmental Management, a non-profit organisation, handed out awards to the most active among them. St Petersburg University took first place, after collecting 96 tonnes of electronic waste and receiving an interactive flipchart from Samsung Electronics. Moscow State University of Civil Engineering and Ivanovo State University shared second place, while Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology along with the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia came in third.
Members of the University community wishing to donate their old office, household, scientific and medical equipment, or electric tools, telephones and other gadgets can also participate in the electronics recycling programme by filing an application with Alla Koshkina, the head of the St Petersburg University Storage Facilities Division, at a.koshkina@spbu.ru.
‘A key component of the School of Recycling: Electronics programme is to encourage the separate collection of electronic waste and to promote overall environmental awareness,’ noted Ekaterina Polniakova, Assistant to the Minister of Science and Higher Education. ‘The Ministry gratefully acknowledges the winners for devoting many years of consistent effort to the promotion of environmental awareness and environmental education, and also for developing their environmental consciousness and planning skills, so that whatever they do is based on its environmental impact.’
The School of Recycling: Electronics is the only free-of-charge recycling programme in Russia that is open to the public, state-financed institutions and agencies of the national and municipal governments. It is sponsored by the non-profit Foundation for Environmental Management and is carried out in eight different regions of the country. Anyone who wishes to can become a participant.
St Petersburg University works hard to instill environmental practices and conservation technologies on a university-wide basis. It is a member of the Association of Green Universities of Russia, and it promotes the idea of an environmentally friendly Green Campus, where environmental projects and programmes, aimed at reducing the University’s environmental footprint and protecting the environment, are a regular feature. Thanks to the active participation of students and staff, a system of separate waste collection has been set up on the campus, and new collection points are constantly appearing. Students participate in the collection of waste paper, and they hold bio-fairs and volunteer cleanup days at the University’s Botanical Garden. It should also be mentioned that St Petersburg University trains leading specialists in environmental studies and natural resource management.