The Mascot competition 

Thursday evening, May 30, 22.59 hours. The decisive minute, when the vote of the public decides the winning mascot of the edition. Three final teams and their mascots fight closely on the way to the finish line.  The fans’ activity on Facebook reaches new records. Tens of new likes invade the page every three minutes.

Bang! At 23.00 the Patrol of the National College Al.I.Cuza in Focșani celebrates the victory! Their creation, RoBoDEEEa, the futurist lamp made up of recyclable materials, becomes the new star of the program, with 2,192 likes from the fans. Very close was the Recycling Rooster of the Center for Inclusive Education (CSEI) no 1 in Bistrița, who got 2,095 votes.  The WEEE Cat created by „George Coșbuc” School in Sighetu Marmației gained the sympathy of 1,363 fans.

Although disappointed, the other two competitors congratulate the winner and thank supporters.  We gladly welcome the exemplary attitude of all teams who won our heart and respect.

”Congratulations to all students, teachers and their friends, supporters of the Recycling Patrol!” wishes  Mrs. Teodora Popescu, from CSEI Bistrița. ”We won only by participating. If we didn’t succeed this time, we will sure do next time.” say the participants from Sighetu Marmației.

”All my appreciation for the other two teams from the final.” conveys Mr Ionuț Èšandără, the coordinating teacher of the winning patrol in Focșani. RoBoDEEEa greets România, Vrancea and the students of the National College Cuza in Focșani!”

The new star of the Recycling Patrol

RoBoDEEEa makes its debut as an Official Mascot of the Recycling Patrol on the red carpet, as a star should do, at the ceremony award on the 5th of June. In front of the cameras who connect the awarding events in all counties,  RoBoDEEEa shows how nice CDs and DVDs can be re-used. Moreover, it can function as a real lamp, it can be turned on and give out light. We haven’t spoken about electricity all year long for nothing!…

It has alongside Ionuț Èšandără, the coordinating teacher and the agents of the Recycling Patrol of National College ”Al.I.Cuza” in Focșani. ”When we started to design RoBoDEEEa, we thought that we could constructively play with parts of e-waste.  So, we went on with the plan, me as a coordinator, joined by the visual arts teacher Ovidiu Opaiț and a group of 10 energetic students with artistic talent. Ever since the beginning, when we chose the agents for the Recycling Patrol, we thought that the students should be the ones to benefit from this project. Their need to gain knowledge in a non-formal way is so big that it wasn’t hard for them to be 100% involved in the team work. After several debates, the image of the current Mascot took shape. The result was amazing.”  

The photos of the creation process show how RoBoDEEA was born, from the inspiration twinkle to the wonder with technical talent and ecological message: ”A futurist functional lamp, that can light the way to knowledge and responsibility”, says teacher Èšandără.

The prize  – reward and commitment

Several times the coordinating teachers and the Recycling Patrol agents declared that, above the prizes and diplomas, the most important gain was the participation in the project,  with its challenges, lessons learned and team work.  Teacher Èšandără’s words are more than revealing: ”From the beginning until the end of the Facebook voting, our students were very active, showing a true spirit of solidarity, ambition and the ”cuzist”[1] desire to win. For all our agents, winning this special award is not only a material victory but also a moral one. It is a commitment for the years to come. I am sure that this year project brought a positive change and they will want to continue with much more confidence next year.” 

RoBoDEEEa will represent and join us in the WEEE collection and recycling adventure all along the next year edition. The Rooster from Bistrița and the Cat from Sighetu Marmației also won our sympathy. We will dedicate two articles to them, as well as to the patrols who dreamed about and created them with care and inventiveness to make us more aware of our responsibility towards nature and the benefits of this attitude for our life.  

So, to be continued…

[1] Cuza (name of the high school) student (n.t.)