On Saturday, September 9, 2023, the second round of Climate Day was organized as part of the Sztum Circular Economy project. The event was included in the celebration of the Sztum Land Days, thanks to which the project leader could reach a larger audience with the activity.

During the event, there was a presentation on waste management and the impact of human activities on the environment. A competition in the form of a knowledge quiz for residents was conducted by the Gdańsk University of Technology.

Just like last year, a stand was organized where ladies from the housewives' club showed how to cook using whole products.

A game was also organized in which residents had to sort waste correctly. The positive news is that most people can sort waste well.

Let us remind about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which assume changing the world while respecting the environment, thinking about future generations and taking into account the least privileged social groups. The project's assumptions and its activities fit perfectly into several sustainable development goals, including:

• climate action
• responsible consumption and production
• sustainable cities and communities

On June 5-6th, an ecological seminar was held as part of the project Sztum circular economy - the answer to contemporary climate challenges. The seminar was combined with a workshop attended by young people and their teachers from the School in Gościszewo. It was a very interesting and creative meeting, during which staff of the Gdańsk University of Technology from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering discussed topics related to climate change, the life cycle of the product and changes in cycles in nature.

The aim of school workshops conducted by employees of the Gdańsk University of Technology is to support public policies, especially school activities in regions striving for a circular economy model through increased resource efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. It will consist in directing the young generation and teachers on topics related to waste and establish a clear, ambitious and long-term strategy of conduct at all stages: from production through consumption, repair and regeneration to waste management and obtaining secondary raw materials that are recirculated in the economy with the potential offered by the Municipality of the City of Sztum.

Ecological seminars for children and teenagers are a series of meetings organized by the Gdańsk University of Technology in schools located in the Sztum commune. They are aimed at shaping pro-environmental attitudes, as well as helping in choosing and directing the future career path with the awareness of activities that have minimal impact on the environment and climate.

On May 30 and 31, an ecological seminar was held, conducted by a team from the Department of Technology in Environmental Engineering of the Gdańsk University of Technology. Students of classes V and VI as well as teachers were attending and listening to lectures in the topic of human impact on climate change, potential adaptation and mitigation measures, rational use of environmental resources. The youth took part in creative recycling workshops. On the second day, climate meetings were held, during which the participants developed agendas constituting a set of principles for an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

The aim of the seminars was to discuss with young people of the City and Commune of Sztum, as future residents, students and entrepreneurs, how important it is to build future professional plans taking into account the ecological approach and the impact on their habits in the future, emphasizing the importance of the circular economy.

The next round of thematic seminars in the form of interactive and educational SferaLab workshops is behind us. The workshops are organised as part of the project Sztum Circular Economy - the answer to today's climate challenges. Participants in the event are children and young people from the City and Municipality of Sztum.

The activities are divided into thematic sectors. The first concerns the product life cycle, the second, entitled 'seeing CO2' is linked to the carbon cycle in nature, and the third is about 'setting a career path for children and young people with an awareness of environmental and climate impact'.

The activities are divided into a theoretical part and a practical part. During the theoretical part, the young participants learn about the principles of the life cycle, what the water footprint is, and how water parameters such as PH and turbidity, are tested. They also learn what microplastics are and how they are produced. They discuss plastics, waste and the meaning of labels on packaging. They learn about the structure and physical and chemical properties of CO2. They learn about the use of this chemical compound, discuss photosynthesis and the carbon footprint.

In the practical part, pupils have the opportunity to experience empirically everything they learned in the theoretical part. In the "product life cycle" part, the young people are first introduced to professional testing equipment, such as a turbidity meter, a laboratory multifunctional instrument, i.e. a conductivity meter and a spectrophotometer. They find out what methods they can use to test waste. They carry out tests on waste in the water extract, such as turbidity, ph, conductivity, total phosphorus and phenolic index. In the practical CO2 part of the workshop, the young people have the opportunity to observe how soda reacts with vinegar, extinguish a candle, identify this chemical in water or learn about the acidic properties of oxide.

The young participants also attend a lecture prepared by scientists from Gdansk University of Technology, during which they learn about the opportunities offered by the university in terms of future careers in environmental protection and engineering.

Two workshop meetings have already taken place this year, with two more to come.

On 25-27 April this year, as part of the Sztum Circular Economy project, representatives of the Association of Polish Communes Euroregion Baltic participated in a study visit organised by the project's Norwegian partner, the International Development Norway organisation, which operates in various business areas, solving real problems of entities from the public and private sectors. The Sztum Circular Economy project aims to build local foundations for a circular economy. In line with this idea, the study visit aimed to: recognise the benefits of the circular economy; showcase good practices related to it; reinvigorate entrepreneurial attitudes and creativity towards the circular economy; and teach how to engage the local community or use local resources for the circular economy.

The first place visited, related to waste segregation, reuse and resource utilisation, was SirkuLaer, which is a sorting training centre and is also a place for visitors. A representative from SirkuLaer talked about their waste segregation activities and how they teach residents, starting with children in fourth grades. Participants were given a tour of the station, where they were able to see what segregation looks like in the different fractions and what the 'green tent', the place where the recycled shop is located, looks like.
Another inspiring place is a waste recycling company that additionally runs a second-hand shop - Sirkula. The innovative concept of the second-hand shop, located right next to the recycling centre, is that customers of the recycling centre can deliver reusable items they no longer want to Sirkula, instead of throwing them in a container. Delivered items will be given to shops that can sell them as delivered, repair them or convert them into something else. There are also containers on site for items that have not made it to the shops, such as children's toys or books. There has been a lot of interest from residents in the site and they are looking to work with more companies to take care of the missing sections.
The municipality of Asker, working on climate and environmental challenges in line with the SDGs, was visited in the following days. The Asker municipality has recently developed its own circular strategy and shared its experiences with the visitors. The circular station and the Dal Skog Sorting Plant were also visited. The circular station is located in the Municipality and runs a similar waste sorting system, but the participants found it just as interesting. They noticed, for example, the arrangement of the containers, which were located so that everyone could throw items into it themselves. The station also works with a number of companies, which are given items to choose from for recycling. Items that are not selected are thrown into containers with a particular fraction. A workshop was also held here, where participants focused on current activities regarding circular economy issues, with a particular focus on integrating the circular economy into current municipal activities, in strategies, plans and operations. Staff also talked about how to promote and contact residents to encourage segregation.
The last site visited was the 'Magic Factory' located in Tonsberg. This is a pilot site running a Greenhouse (eco-building), where biogas is produced when plants are grown in a greenhouse. Activities are run here for children, who learn, for example, how to cook with products grown in the greenhouse, also receiving knowledge about the circular economy.

The project partners are: City and Municipality of Sztum, Gdansk University of Technology, International Development Norway, the Association of Polish Communes Euroregion Baltic.

We invite you to the first in a series of three pro-ecological webinars, which will be devoted to the subject of the Circular Economy. The purpose of the meeting is to bring closer good practices developed by Norwegian local government communities on the path of transformation towards GOZ.
The webinar is addressed to specialists in the field of environmental protection, and representatives of public administration from Warmia and Mazury and Pomerania regions.

when - April 17, 2023
time - 10:30 - 12:00
registration - https://bit.ly/3mhp7Cv

Webinar organized as part of the Sztum Circular Economy project by International Development Norway

The aim of the workshop is to increase the knowledge and skills of the participants. Workshops will allow you to gain knowledge about reliable indicators conditioning the development of cross-sectoral cooperation in the field of circular economy, as well as possible areas of cooperation and the costs of possible abandonment of this cooperation.

Thanks to this, specific solutions and tools will be developed to support the continuous development of existing and establishing new cooperation channels. Thanks to the implementation of the workshops, niches and areas to be developed as part of cross-sectoral activities taking into account the use of the potential and activity of the youth environment will be defined.

This action will enable the development and creation of new initiatives and ideas for projects under the umbrella of local self-government units participating in the project. It is also building a platform for cooperation between actors from various sectors to increase activity in circular economy processes.