YANGON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- On a drizzly morning in Yangon, Myanmar, the schoolyard of No. 15 Basic Education Primary School in Thingangyun township came alive as about 50 students in white-and-green uniform set their hands to food scraps, leaves, and soil, discovering how everyday waste could be reborn as compost for their garden.
The lesson was part of an environmental awareness program organized by the Environmental Conservation Department under Myanmar's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, in partnership with Bokashi Myanmar, a group that trains communities to recycle organic waste.
Headmistress Daw Chaw Su Htwe said the school has introduced a waste-sorting system. "We sort waste into three types of bins -- wet, dry, and hazardous," she explained.
Trainer Ma Thiri Khin from Bokashi Myanmar led the composting session. "We train in both urban and rural areas, including schools, hotels, monasteries, and community centers across the country," she said. "I don't want to see waste. I want to see plants, so I teach people how to turn waste into compost."
Students quickly grasped the message: what looks like trash can hold value. Composting, even in small spaces, can reduce landfill waste while nourishing trees and flowers, the trainer said.
Later, in the school hall, an awareness program was paired with a gallery of student creations made entirely from discarded materials. The creations included miniature houses, flowers, animals, and even gardens. In the schoolyard, a swan-shaped planter made from plastic bottles and packing foam stood as a centerpiece.
For three years, the school has competed in district-level "Clean and Green" contests, winning prizes twice. Instead of discarding bottles, cardboard, or chopsticks, students reshape them into crafts and classroom tools.
"After learning recycling and upcycling, their habits improved," said Daw Chaw Su Htwe. "They sort waste carefully, work as a team, and even practice recycling and upcycling at home. They are happy doing such creative work," she said.
Ma May Myat Noe Khin, a 12-year-old fifth grader, proudly described one project. "We used plastic bottles and packing foam to make a plant container with a swan head for the garden."
"Our school should be kept clean to prevent diseases like dengue. I also want to keep making beautiful things from waste," She added.
Fourteen-year-old Shin Thant Tun said, "I make creative works not only at school but also at home. I have stationery boxes made from plastic bottles. If trash keeps increasing, it will harm human health and cause environmental problems like air pollution."
Teachers also see educational benefits. Daw Khin Htar Su Aung, a teacher from the school, explained that reusable waste is collected, washed, and used in classrooms as learning materials. Students have created maps of Myanmar, water wells, and flowers from discarded items.
"Teaching students to turn waste into creative works is important," she added. "They learn that even waste has value if used properly. It also benefits the environment."
U Kyaw Naing Moe, an assistant director at the Environmental Conservation Department, said the program is designed to ripple outward from schools to families and communities.
"Our awareness program and compost-making activities aim to sort waste systematically. Composting reduces wet trash, while reuse methods spread to the public through children," he said.
"Making creative handicrafts with reusable trash helps reduce waste. Today's children will be tomorrow's decision makers. By raising awareness now, we prepare them to protect the environment," he added.
At the school gallery, students proudly showed their crafts: flowers from paper, houses from cardboard, maps from foam. For these young learners, waste is no longer just rubbish. It is the beginning of something useful, beautiful, and green. ■