The Earth Cup Challenge was part of a national campaign to promote recycling among students in Qatar. Students in different schools competed against each other to see which school could recycle the most plastic bottles in one week. Students began collecting bottles on Earth Day, 22 April 2015.

The challenge, under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, was organized by Entalek, a local eco-tourism company, in partnership with Averda, an international waste management company, Thirty thousand students from eleven different schools participated in the challenge and the results were fantastic.

In total, more than 148,000 plastic bottles were recycled. By doing so, students were able to reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the air we breathe by 4,500 kilograms in just one week.

“Educating young people today about the value of recycling will help ensure our citizens of the future are better informed to a make a positive contribution to the environment,” said John Irvine, the managing director at Averda.

The aim of the challenge was to engage the youth of Qatar in a fun activity that is also educational. Although waste management might not seem like a very interesting issue, it is certainly an important one.

The Minister of Environment, HE Ahmed Amer Al Humaidi, said “Recycling and waste management are some of the most important challenges facing us in Qatar, as well as the rest of the world today. It is important that we promote positive values towards a sustainable environment among our youth in order to make a lasting impact on our future generation.”

That is why the Earth Cup Challenge is important. It was a unique and innovative way to teach students how to sustain our resources and keep our environment safe. The students engaged in healthy competition and also learned a few things along the way.

Steve Stelljes, general manager at Entalek said, “We are extremely proud of what the students have accomplished and hope they will continue the habit of recycling even after the competition.”

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