In a room full of excitement, a group of students make quick decisions on the screen: separate waste, optimize composting and collaborate on sustainable solutions for their virtual community. Comments flow: “Watch out for methane!” exclaims one student, while her classmate tries to find the best strategy to reduce environmental impact.

We are in a classroom, but this is not just another lesson. It is an interactive experience that transforms learning into concrete action.

This innovative approach is part of the European project COM: Supporting behaviour change towards food and organic waste in schools , which seeks to tackle the global problem of organic waste through education, promoting behaviour change in schools and fostering the circular economy.

The initiative is based on three key pillars: raising awareness about the environmental impact of waste, implementing practical tools – such as a gamified platform – and collecting qualitative data to understand the current dynamics of environmental education. At the heart of the project is an educational video game that challenges students to make decisions about waste management and the circular economy in virtual scenarios designed to simulate real-world problems.

As part of the project, we conducted qualitative research in six participating countries: Greece, Slovenia, Italy, Turkey, Romania and Spain (Basque Country). During this research, 136 interviews with education professionals were conducted, individually and in focus groups, and revealed important narrative data on current practices in environmental education.

For example, in Slovenia students design campaigns to reduce food waste in their communities. These activities not only foster environmental awareness, but also motivate young people to reflect on the impact of their consumption habits and to propose solutions that can be implemented both at home and in community spaces.

In the Basque Country, pilot projects for community composting have been launched, involving both schools and families. In this way, collaboration between different actors – in this case, students and families – is strengthened to transform waste management into a collective effort.

In this line, the COM project material proposes an activity in which students design and develop a waste sorting plan at home. This plan includes everything from deciding where to place the bins to assigning responsibilities within the family to collect and deposit the waste in the appropriate containers. This practical experience involves students and generates a positive impact on their families by introducing sustainable habits at home.

Waste management as a gateway to the Sustainable Development Goals

Organic waste management not only addresses urgent challenges, but is also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), an international proposal promoted by the United Nations to promote a sustainable future.

For example, properly separating waste and preventing it from ending up in landfills helps reduce the emission of polluting gases such as methane. It is a direct action that contributes to combating climate change and complying with SDG 13, which focuses on climate action.

In the classroom, this topic comes to life through practical experiences, where students not only understand the theory, but also develop key skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, essential to achieving SDG 4, which advocates for quality education.

Furthermore, by learning to make the most of available resources, students adopt responsible consumption habits, aligning themselves with SDG 12, which promotes sustainable production and consumption patterns. In this way, classroom actions connect with global goals, demonstrating how education can be a transformative force on the path to a more just and sustainable future.

A multiplier effect: from classrooms to the community

Schools, as spaces where values ​​and knowledge are formed, have the power to influence far beyond their walls. The lessons learned by students are transformed into concrete actions in their homes and communities.

For example, a group of students who learned how to make school compost decided to replicate it at home, managing to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills.

Education, combined with innovative tools such as gamification, is positioned as one of the most effective ways to face environmental challenges. This approach, which intertwines theory and practice, contributes to preparing future generations to build a more sustainable world. Change begins in the classroom, but its impact can go much further.

Author Bios: Nahia Idoiaga Mondragon is Professor of the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education of Bilbao and Idoia Legorburu Fernandez is Professor of the Department of Didactics and School Organization both at the University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea