Il-Fjuri Qarrieqa: Rethinking Waste, Protecting Nature

During the European Week for Waste Reduction 2026, the Foundation will officially launch the children’s book Il-Fjuri Qarrieqa at a school and use the event as an educational activity on waste prevention, material sufficiency and sustainable management of vegetation.

The story highlights how the unnecessary removal of naturally occurring vegetation along rural passages can create avoidable green waste, while also removing plants that are already adapted to the local environment and valuable to pollinators. It also contrasts this with the use of ornamental flowering plants in landscaped areas such as roundabouts, where plants may require regular replacement in order to maintain their visual appearance. This can generate additional plant waste and increase the use of resources, particularly water and maintenance inputs.

Through storytelling and discussion, students will be encouraged to rethink whether intervention and replacement are always necessary, and to understand that one of the most effective ways to reduce waste is to avoid creating it in the first place.

Each participating student will receive a free copy of Il-Fjuri Qarrieqa, allowing the educational message to continue beyond the EWWR activity and to be shared with their families at home. The initiative will therefore combine waste-prevention education, biodiversity awareness and long-term behavioural change through an engaging resource designed specifically for children.