plasticLIFEcycle – youth in the world of recycling

On May 29th 2025, the INVESTEKO S.A. head­quar­ters once again became the venue for an edu­ca­tion­al event for sev­er­al hours. This was all thanks to work­shops orga­nized as part of the plas­ti­cLIFE­cy­cle project.

Around 20 stu­dents from School Com­plex No. 1 in Ruda Śląs­ka came to learn how to respon­si­bly han­dle plas­tics and how to care for the envi­ron­ment in their dai­ly lives.

What Does Plas­tic Mean?

The class began with a the­o­ret­i­cal ses­sion led by Piotr Góral from EkoPart­ner Sile­sia Sp. z o.o. Dur­ing the lec­ture, par­tic­i­pants learned about var­i­ous types of plas­tics and the chal­lenges of pro­cess­ing them. How­ev­er, this was not a typ­i­cal pre­sen­ta­tion – stu­dents could observe how plas­tics react to con­tact with fire and water, which gen­er­at­ed con­sid­er­able inter­est and numer­ous ques­tions, for exam­ple, about the changes in the mate­ri­als’ odor when heat­ed.

Mod­ern Tech­nolo­gies in Prac­tice

The next stage of the vis­it was a tour of the PLC instal­la­tion. The youth had the oppor­tu­ni­ty to expe­ri­ence the process of clos­ing the plas­tic life cycle – from the moment it becomes waste to its trans­for­ma­tion into a raw mate­r­i­al.

Time for con­ver­sa­tion and his­to­ry dis­cov­ery

After the inten­sive prac­ti­cal ses­sion, there was time for more relaxed con­ver­sa­tions. Par­tic­i­pants could exchange opin­ions, ask addi­tion­al ques­tions, and inter­act with the pre­sen­ters. The cul­mi­na­tion was a trip to the KWK Pol­s­ka Tow­er – a struc­ture sym­bol­iz­ing the region’s indus­tri­al past. Witold Szwed­kows­ki, respon­si­ble for com­mu­ni­ca­tions for the LIFE Archi­cli­ma project, spoke about its his­to­ry.

This inspir­ing meet­ing was not only a les­son in recy­cling and the cir­cu­lar econ­o­my but also an oppor­tu­ni­ty to reflect on the future of our plan­et. The plas­ti­cLIFE­cy­cle work­shops show young peo­ple that respon­si­bil­i­ty for the envi­ron­ment begins with con­scious, every­day choic­es.