The chosen park was Central Park, in Tres Cantos (Madrid), and the activity consisted of collecting remains of already exploded water balloons from the ground. It may seem like a small job, but the twenty elderly people from the DomusVi residence in Tres Cantos who joined the plan spent the morning outdoors outside the structures, they moved from one place to another, they acted as a team, they also had fun, Antonia de Santos, an 80-year-old retired teacher, who commanded the expedition from her wheelchair, said by telephone. “We were all wearing very funny green shirts. We took pictures, we laughed for a while, it was one of the expected things.”
The collection of garbage (waste abandoned in natural environments) such as what occurred in Central Park falls into this context Third in age, first in recyclingan Ecoembes initiative with which to promote recycling through play in day centers and residences throughout Spain, and which also includes outings in natural environments. Since its launch in 2017, one million seniors have participated in this program.
Campaign figures
Third in age, first in recycling
1 million
of adults has been participating since 2017
2,500
senior centers
have joined the program
11,000
bins and containers
yellow and blue were delivered to residences and day centers
a dozen
of activity
related to recycling occur daily
Source: Ecoembes
The elderly, says Dolerta Vicente, Legal and ESG director of Ecoembes, constitute a generation with a great desire to do. “We try to make it another way of motivating these people, helping them get more involved.” They represent 20% of the Spanish population, recalls Vicente. “They are a key group to promote circularity.”
Ecoembes is tasked, says the training lawyer, with providing “turnkey activity packages” to senior centres. They meet therapists and healthcare staff from residences and day centers and personalize the games and educational campaigns to the maximum. “We support them in carrying out activities, we train professionals, we listen to them to improve in everything they convey to us,” explains the Legal and ESG Director of Ecoembes. From this year the program has also been developed in private centres. Nine companies with residences and day centers across the country host activities and games in their facilities and promote excursions in natural environments.
Crafts, another board game
Him photo shoot Recycling consists of making photo frames with recycled material, with cardboard, with fabrics, even with buttons, caps, coats of arms, any object that can be used to decorate. It involves cutting, painting, designing, thinking. The hands and head are used for entertainment. And that frame then decorates the room with a photo of your family. Other activities coordinated by the centers’ therapists are recycling bingo or wasted memory.
Families made up of over 65 years They are those that have on average more containers for separate waste collection: 3.7
This is the age group that recycles the most in Spain over 55 years old, with 84.9%
Source: “Survey on recycling habits of Spanish households” prepared in 2023 by consultancy firm Kantar for Ecoembes
The grandchildren of the elderly also go to the centers to carry out an intergenerational activity. Both mix very well at the recycling fair, where traditional games, such as bowling or the recycled can raffle, take place. The ring game triumphs. The sturdy rings are made from newspaper and colored green, blue or yellow. In the distance there are bottles or cartons or boxes also colored with those colors. The activity consists in crossing the residue of the same shade with the ring.
He also wins the recycling challenge, which consists of determining which container each waste should be thrown into. They compete in groups, by levels. It’s really a game. Other times awareness does not happen through a small competition, but rather through some indications, some information panels. Ecoembes distributed 11,000 yellow and blue baskets and containers to residences and day centers. When De Santos, born in Aguilapuente (Segovia), receives a visit from her family, they usually drink a soft drink or a bottle of water. “Then we throw it in the corresponding container. It’s not very difficult to do it right, really, because they put up signs telling us how to recycle it,” says this former physics teacher. “At home I already had three buckets for recycling,” says the woman involved, who is part of the menu board and the operations board of the DomusVi Tres Cantos residents’ center.
plastic bottle
POWERS
Fusion
Invisibility
Finesse
plastic bottle
Fusion
The cap attached to the mouth of the bottle prevents it from being lost, thus ensuring its recycling.
Invisibility
A transparent container can go back to being the same container once recycled. If it is blue or green, it cannot be transparent.
Finesse
Over the last 25 years the weight of a container such as a water bottle has decreased by an average of 18%.
YOU CAN DRINK
POWERS
Lightness
Excellent resistance
Extreme recyclability
YOU CAN DRINK
Lightness
An aluminum can weighs between 12 and 13 grams. Over the last 30 years it has decreased its weight by 30%.
Excellent resistance
One can holds 200 pounds vertically and is easy to stack.
Extreme recyclability
If it is recycled, 95% less energy is used than when it was first produced.
Since a former Ecoembes worker designed Third in age, first in recycling In 2017, as part of an intrapreneurship program, the program grew and became very professional, says Vicente. “It’s very structured, it’s been standardized.” There are sheets with detailed information on all the activities and the benefits they bring to the elderly, such as motor development, cognitive development, motivation and social relationships; talk to each other, come to an agreement, form teams. Like when the DomusVi elders formed a brigade in the Tres Cantos Central Park.
That Reducate, that Reuses, that Recycle
Elderly people are always very accustomed to respecting the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). This is how croquettes were born, here is their use
Dorletta Vicente
Legal and ESG Director of Ecoembes
Coordinates the ‘Third to Recycle, First to Recycle’ initiative through which adults receive training on waste management and participate in outdoor activities to remove waste
Graduated in Law, Dorleta Vicente (Vitoria, 45 years old) joined Ecoembes in 2021 to manage the Legal department, but after two years she was also offered to deal with ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance, Environment, Social and Corporate Governance). “What started as a ring road has become a relevant part of my work, we feel more proud. When we achieve a waste-free future, we cause a positive social impact on society.”
Vicente says that the elderly are always very accustomed to respecting the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle): “This is how kibble was born, that is the use”. The Ecoembes operator recalls that at the beginning the program was launched in residences, but then they realized that in the day centers the elderly could play cards as well as play the recycling bingo or the recycling challenge, which were the main activities.
