"Volunteer Steps, Green Future: Recycling and Sustainability Education in Uşak" was conducted between December 9-13, 2024, in collaboration with the Uşak University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Public Administration Department and Public Administration Club, the Uşak Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Uşak Municipality, Uşak Provincial Directorate of National Education, and local recycling companies.
On the first day of the social responsibility project titled "Volunteer Steps, Green Future: Recycling and Sustainability Education in Uşak," aimed at fostering volunteerism and environmental awareness in the community, volunteer students were trained in two sessions held at Uşak University's Mustafa Kemal Paşa Hall.
In the first session, Project Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fulya Akyıldız, Fatma Yalçın from Günay Recycling, and Özlem Şadak from Akmonya Engineering provided training on topics such as volunteerism, voluntary participation in public services, recycling, waste management, and sustainability. In the second session, Yurdagül Yıldırım from the Uşak Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Nadide Türkmen from Uşak Municipality, and Meltem Meniz Somuncu from Uşak University shared information about their institutions' environmental and sustainability activities. Ebrar Naz Aydın, a graduate of the Uşak University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Public Administration Department, shared the results of her field research conducted within the scope of her TÜBİTAK 2209-A Project titled Sustainable Campus Services: The Case of Uşak University.
Following the training and information meetings, primary and secondary schools identified by Uşak Provincial Directorate of National Education were visited with the participation of volunteer students between 10-12 December. Approximately 50 volunteer students from 6 primary and secondary schools informed approximately 1000 students about recycling, waste management and sustainability issues and placed recycling bins in schools.
Following the school training sessions, a certificate of appreciation was presented to Project Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fulya Akyıldız by the Uşak Provincial Directorate of National Education. On the last day of the event, Friday, December 13, volunteer students visited the waste disposal facilities of the Uşak Municipality and Günay Recycling company, where they received information from municipal and company officials about recycling practices.