Within the scope of the project, the students built a symbolic monument out of landscaping and plastic bottle waste in the garden of their university with the waste they collected.
“WE WANT TO GO TO EVERY UNIVERSITY AS VOLUNTEERS”
Emphasizing that the whole university was involved after this project, which was carried out by 9 members of the club, Istanbul Gelisim University Public Relations and Social Responsibility Club advisor academician Assist. Prof. Emel Tozlu said, “We set out by thinking if we could make our campus even more beautiful with unused, recyclable materials. Beautiful and artistic things turned out. We wish the project not to stay here, but to continue in a sustainable way. Maybe next year, with a bigger project, we want to go to the campuses of other universities voluntarily and do this. Young people are always very sensitive about this issue and this makes us very happy.”
“WE MUST START RECYCLING FROM OUR HOME”
Emphasizing that we should start recycling from our home, Tozlu said, “We can even start by separating plastic, glass and household waste. Things that seem tiny in our own home deform nature very seriously, and if it continues like this, there will be no good places to live in the world. If we do not take the necessary precautions now, we will not have a beautiful world to leave to our children in the future.”
Gürcan Kurt, a faculty member at Istanbul Gelişim University, who helped students make sculptures out of waste in the project, said, “It was a very difficult process to give shape to plastic bottles, but we had a very enjoyable time with the exchange of ideas with the students. At first, the students looked very negatively at the thought of what could come out of very plastic bottles. However, we created an amorphous form with the changes we made with the idea given by each student.”
“There are a lot of materials that are recycled from the garbage even though we are not aware of it”
Stating that people are not aware of recycling materials and that studies can be made from these materials in any environment, Kurt said, “We have produced a study from plastic bottles with an unclear form. We created a form with heavy-weight plastic bottles on the ground and putting colored water in them, and with lower-weight plastic bottles on top. Everyone can do something in their garden. What we want most is the proliferation of such projects. I think it is useful to experiment using different materials. People have a good time and it is a fun process. We would also like to thank Abdulkadir Gayretli, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our university, for his support for all the projects we have realized in the field of social responsibility.”
“RECYCLING IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN THE WORLD”
Project leader Yağmur Akay, who said that I think one of the most important things in the world, is recycling, said, “The main reason that puts animals, people and the ecological system in trouble is the waste we throw away. Many wastes do not disappear in nature and therefore we start to pollute the world. If we do not ignore the things we will do, it will be very beneficial for nature. I invite everyone to recycle and not to pollute the environment.”
“WE THOUGHT HOW WE CAN TELL PEOPLE ABOUT RECYCLING”
Yağmur Akay, who said that they made coffee tables, flower pots and sculptures to be used in gardening with the waste collected within the scope of the project, explained the project process as follows:
“While doing the project, we thought about how we can tell people about recycling and how we can raise awareness. There was so much waste around us that we collected the wheels one by one, painted them, painted pieces of fabric and made a sculpture by collecting the bottles that were thrown at our school. It makes us very happy when our friends at school see us and ask questions. We achieved what we wanted, we tell them what we are doing and tell them that they can do these things too. We have gifts for those who support us. By combining soda caps, we made key chains with our own efforts, and we provided seed pens because we wanted them to be beneficial to nature. After using these pens, we bury them in the ground, not in the trash, and we benefit from afforestation.”
Istanbul Gelisim University student Tolgahan Polat, who said that they wanted to raise awareness about how useful recycling can be, what people can do and use with recycling, and evaluate products with their project, said, “We made things like sculptures and coffee tables with the materials we collected from the garbage. For the first few minutes, we were hesitant about what the statue would look like. We had a hard time doing it. If everyone thinks that something around them can transform, a better life awaits us both for our country and for our environment. Our friends gave a lot of support to our project. "People came to us and wanted to help," he said.
A mini concert was held in the garden of Istanbul Gelişim University Vocational School, where the project took place. The students accompanied the songs in their own gardens. Club members gave away key chains and seed pens made from soda caps to their friends.
“If It Returns, It's Yours” project will continue with new works in the garden throughout the term.
