Rethink Waste, Redesign the Future.

In the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and technological advancement, perspectives on waste management and waste reduction are evolving. Raising awareness of waste reduction has become increasingly important in educational curricula and public discourse. Introduced in 2017, Türkiye’s Zero Waste Policy established a national framework promoting waste prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery across public and private organizations. Furthermore, the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, in 2026, highlights the importance of translating climate commitments into practical action. These developments provide an important context for reconsidering how waste reduction practices can be promoted more widely across society.

Meanwhile, the growing integration of AI into everyday life offers new opportunities to raise environmental awareness and encourage sustainable behaviours. This raises an important question: How can AI be used effectively not only to provide information about waste reduction but also to encourage children to rethink their perceptions and practices related to waste? Although AI has been increasingly used in education for instructional support, information discovery, and entertainment, its potential to stimulate critical reflection and transform how learners approach specific environmental issues offers further opportunities for exploration.

To address this opportunity, the present initiative introduces an interactive online game developed by a 10-year-old lower-secondary school student using an AI platform and implemented with students at the school. The initiative aims to raise children’s awareness of waste reduction through an engaging, game-based learning experience. It also seeks to encourage participation and motivation by introducing a friendly competitive element and a challenge-based environment. In the game, participants collect different types of waste in various virtual environments, such as fields and the sea. During the implementation, students access the game by scanning QR codes and attempt to collect the waste in the shortest possible time. Throughout the game, informative charts provide facts about waste reduction and illustrate the potential environmental consequences of improper waste management. By combining AI-supported game development, interactive learning, and environmental information, the initiative seeks to make waste reduction more engaging and encourage children to reconsider their everyday attitudes and practices concerning waste.

Beyond learning to identify and collect waste, students are encouraged to recognise that waste is not simply something to be collected and disposed of, but an environmental concern whose harmful consequences can be reduced through prevention, reuse, and responsible consumption. By combining AI-supported game development, interactive learning, and environmental information, the initiative seeks to encourage children to reconsider their perceptions of waste, reflect on their everyday practices, and understand how individual choices can contribute to waste reduction.

As a final stage of the initiative, students will be invited to contribute to a collaborative Padlet board entitled Our Ideas for a Waste-Free Future. In response to the question, “What can we do to protect the environment and reduce waste?”, each student will propose at least one practical or creative solution and upload a photograph illustrating their idea or showing it in practice. Students will also explore their peers’ contributions to exchange ideas and discover alternative approaches to waste reduction. This activity will connect the virtual gaming experience with real-life environmental practices, encouraging students to move beyond collecting waste towards preventing its generation and reducing its environmental impact. The Padlet board will serve as a collective repository of student-generated ideas, highlighting children’s capacity to contribute to environmental sustainability. By combining AI-supported game development, interactive learning, visual documentation, and collaborative idea-sharing, the initiative aims to foster creative thinking, environmental responsibility, and a proactive approach to sustainable living.

Estimated Time for Action: 21/11/2026 – 25/11/2026. 

Approximate Participation: Between 200-300.