OZO Ostrava – one million crowns for environmentally-focused projects

It wants to invest one million crowns in environmentally-focused projects.

Waste company OZO Ostrava announces the second year of thematic challenges aimed at increasing waste utilization and improving the city. It will provide up to one million crowns for environmentally-focused projects, which is almost 2.5 times more than last year.

“I appreciate that OZO Ostrava has decided to financially support the improvement of the environment in the city,” says Deputy Mayor Kateřina Šebestová. The greatest achievement of that project is not only an increase of municipal waste utilization but mostly bringing environmental awareness to the citizens. “It is symbolic that the projects in the first year have affected several generations, from children at nursery school, secondary school and college students to senior citizens,” she stressed.

“The creative approach of the participants motivated us to increase the amount of financial support from last year’s 381,000 CZK to 1,000,000 CZK for this year’s project. The projects were not only focused on beautification or waste management, but also had an educational character,” said Karel Belda, executive director of OZO Ostrava.

Last year, eight applicants applied for funding, five of them were selected and subsequently financially supported. The four approved projects of the first year were in the category of Green for Ostrava and they were mainly about the improvement of the area near the applicants’ institutions. The authors of the fifth project were VŠB Ostrava students, who studied the composition of the waste generated by the selected workplaces of the school and tried a new system of sorting and utilization of the biodegradable waste component.

OZO Ostrava in cooperation with the City of Ostrava announces the second year of thematic challenge.

1. Green for Ostrava

This thematic challenge is again aimed at supporting projects aimed at cleaning, refurbishing or beautifying the public areas, forests, water, groves and meadows in the City of Ostrava.

2. New life for old things

The challenge gives space to creative and practical ideas for reusing waste. Educational events, the production of works of art or utilizing waste to create everyday use objects for public areas and the repair or refurbishment of waste, which will allow their further use, will be supported. The public and community benefit is the condition of the project’s support.

3. New possibilities for recycling of sorted waste – PLASTICS

Within the second edition of the challenge applicants from secondary schools and university students (throughout the Czech Republic) will be focusing on new possibilities of utilizing plastic waste.

Applicants are advised to submit an electronic application by the end of April.

“In May we will decide which projects meet criteria for the financial support,” describes Karel Belda.”From June to November there will be enough time for their realization, by December at the latest, we will expect final reports, in January next year, we will evaluate everything again.”

Deputy Mayor Kateřina Šebestová speaks well about the new topics of the challenges:

“In particular, the new possibilities of utilizing separated plastics can become a key issue in the near future, as the possibility of selling these materials to China is declining. It is encouraging to know that our citizens have already learned to sort plastic waste and that OZO Ostrava is the guarantor of their energy use in the form of fuel production. However, the priority should be material use. And right here is the chance for young emerging professionals to bring a new perspective into the issue and to look for new solutions.”

Projects supported in the thematic challenges of OZO Ostrava in 2017:

Thematic challenge “How to increase the rate of material and energy utilization of municipal waste”

Students of the Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering of VŠB Ostrava attracted attention by their project focused on material analysis of municipal waste in selected sections of their school building. A part of the project, supported by CZK 90,000, was increasing the waste containers for the separation of plastic, paper and bio-waste; composting bio-waste; economic balance to compare the cost of the current situation with possible innovations and the education of students and staff of VŠB Ostrava. The project is being explored further in students´ diploma theses.

Thematic challenge “Green for Ostrava”

Pavel Tigrid Language school in Poruba took advantage of the 50,000 CZK to  improve the area around the statue of Pavel Tigrid. The terrain was modified and the new lawn was set up, the old trees were cut and the space was newly planted.

Home for the elderly people in Kamenec attracted attention after the completion of the garden renovation project to in the total cost of 724,000 CZK. Additional garden modifications were made of the contribution of OZO Ostrava in the amount of 180,000 CZK, in particular the paved areas, the benches, exercise elements and part of aviary. Different species of birds can be now appreciated not only by home dwellers and their relatives but also cyclists using the cycle path very next to the home.

Kindergarten Blahoslavova received 50,000 CZK for the Colorful Bio-garden Project. It has focused on educating children through natural materials, taking care of nature, and teaching children how to explore the surrounding landscape with all their senses. The project included the building of a sensational walkway and an insect hotel, the purchase of CDs with sounds of animals and nature as well as the portable sandbox with kinetic sand and plants, which the children themselves cared for.

Members of Junák – Czech Scout, Eskadra Ostrava used the 11,000 CZK to produce mobile flower pots from the old bathtubs where they planted pelargonium, strawberries and ice salads. Pots with the soil substrate from OZO Ostrava, were handed over to four Scout sections in Poruba. They will be replanted again this spring.