Lesson Plans
Activity 1 Practical visit to a “reuse center” | ||
Total Duration of the module Number of Participants | 6 Hours Up to 15 participants | |
Learning Goals: A visit to an establishment working in the field of re-use on a daily basis is a practical tool used to discover the different realities of theVvaloriste activity. | ||
Topic: By making contact beforehand, it is often possible to welcome a group to a project's facilities, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the work of a “Valoriste”. A fairly standard itinerary can begin where the public drop off their reusable objects and end in the area where the objects are put back into the "second hand" circuit, passing through the various upgrading workshops. It's a practical presentation of the stages involved in reuse, which is not just a matter of "putting into a shop objects, that have just been dropped off". | ||
Time | 6 Hours | |
Learning objectives | -Understand all the work that goes into putting an object back into circulation; -Understand the priorities of the Valoriste in his or her day-to-day challenges; -Depending on the relationship formed, such a visit may even lead to an opportunity for a short or long-term work placement. | |
Content / Methodology/Evaluation | Methodology in several steps: Introduction (for the responsible of the group of learners): A visit such as the one recommended here requires a little preparation beforehand: -Identify a nearby project or company involved in the reuse activity; -Contact the project manager or the person appointed to welcome the visitors beforehand, to set a date and agree on the expected results (useful for keeping frustration to a minimum); Preparing the participants for the visit (2 hours): -Prepare a list of questions with the participants, perhaps starting with their imagination of what the visit will bring, then also going back over the list of skills to be acquired, selecting those that could be acquired during the visit and transforming them into questions; -One interesting idea is for each participant to bring along a personal object that is still in good condition, is no longer useful and is ready to be disposed of. This object is then handed over at the beginning of the visit and can, depending on the possibilities at the time, be directed to the right place by the participants themselves. This gesture can be a practical exercise in what can or cannot be taken back and how it will be used in the company, while at the same time creating a concrete link of solidarity with the project in question. More often than not, welcoming visitors is one of the tasks carried out by reuse companies, but is not necessarily subsidised: bringing in objects that can be reused can therefore be a great way of compensating for the time spent by the company welcoming participants. During the visit itself (1h30): Depending on the project chosen for the visit, it is possible to make practical observations about all the functions of the Valoriste: how they deal with the public who bring in donations, what they choose to reuse or not and according to what criteria, how they transport the objects to preserve them as much as possible, the different treatments that enable the objects to be recovered as well as the destinations given to the materials that will be recycled further. Discussion (1h30): To find out more about subjects that don't come up spontaneously during the visit, a series of questions can be asked either during the tour or at the end. Here are a few examples of questions: *What do you make to protect your health in your work as a Valoriste? *What information do you collect on objects entering and leaving the company, on donors, customers, etc.? *How do you go about talking to donors, for example, about the company and its aims? Evaluation (1h): The visit can be evaluated in different ways, which may follow one another: *evaluation at the end of the visit by sharing, depending on the time available: what each person learnt, what surprised them, what they liked best, how they felt about the job of Valoriste, etc.; *afterwards, a mapping of the functions and challenges of the Valoriste, based on the answers and observations collected during the visit. The visit can also be used afterwards, either as an essay or as part of a group discussion, to devise "the re-use project we would like to set up in our community". | |
Material / Tools / Equipment | This tool does not require any specific equipment, apart from a notepad for each participant to record the answers to their questions and observations. | |
Comments | There are videos on youtube.com that allow you to visit “reuse centers” in the distance. This requires a bit of research, particularly as the videos available deal more with the practice of recycling than reuse. Here are 2 examples: References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTd7QHmYRY8 (english) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp3PMda0Egw (french) No prior knowledge is required. | |