PTA activities vary from school to school. At one elementary school, waste collection is conducted. Children also participate and learn about recycling resources. In one case, the collection is conducted in spring and autumn, and 4,000 beer bottles, more than 2 tons of aluminum cans, and 4,000 bottles of alcohol are collected, making a total profit of 200,000 yen. PTA officials have a lot of trouble carrying out this activity. On the other hand, there are problems with the current resource collection. In various regions of Japan, elementary school PTAs organize waste collections. It seems that the procedure is that PTA staff collect the waste from each home and bring it to the school, and then sell it to a waste dealer. The system is that the sales money is included in PTA membership fees and given back to the children. By using this system, it will contribute a little to the current issues of saving electricity and resources, and preventing global warming. The problem is that this activity requires a lot of effort from parents.
The idea of collecting waste is that instead of collecting twice a year, children should carry a little bit to school every day (about 200 days). Regular, frequent cleaning is more efficient than a major cleaning once a year. Once a certain amount of waste has been collected by the children, a contractor will collect it at the appropriate time. For example, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture has a total of 65 elementary and junior high schools. If children who go to school carry newspapers and empty cans to school every day, the same effect as waste collection can be achieved. Contractors can create a system to efficiently visit 65 schools. If the waste can be collected efficiently, it can contribute to solving the driver shortage and energy problems. A “win-win-win” flow may be created, with contractors making profits, parents reducing their burden, and children contributing to resource recovery through learning.
Aluminum is the top mineral resource recycling material. Recycling aluminum from aluminum cans is very efficient. It is calculated that 4% of the energy is required to make aluminum cans from ore and from recycled aluminum cans. Aluminum recycling starts with the separate collection of aluminum cans, and the collection rate is high, exceeding 90%. The system of collection and raising the level of awareness will increase the usefulness of recycling. A certain percentage of recycled materials is always generated every year. If the amount is not an issue, it will turn into a high-quality urban mine that will not run out. Children’s resource collection activities may become an important means of securing resources for Japan in the future.
