The "Recycle and Win" competition is known by schools across Slovakia. Its organizer for 15 years is the company Milk-Agro. Schools compete in several categories and have the chance to win not only specific prizes but also something more important. They teach their students to separate waste and help nature. And that is an even bigger win. We talked about how the competition started and evolved to its current form with Mgr. Matej Bálint, head of marketing at Milk-Agro. He has been personally involved in the project for 10 years.
What were the beginnings of this competition?
A colleague came with a field insight about aluminum separation through a project for schools. The company management decided to reward schools whose students buy and eat our SABI products, or schools that purchase SABI products through their canteens. Then it was enough to connect these ideas, and we started. Initially, it was only a few schools collecting only caps, then tetrapaks were added, later creative categories: creations from our products and songs. Category D is the newest, where we evaluate not only schools but also school canteens. This year we evaluated the 30 best school canteens that purchased the most goods per student. In the “collection” categories, we have collected 15 tons of waste annually over the past years. We thus fulfill the competition’s subtitle: Help your school and protect nature.
How did the creative categories develop?
The creativity of the contestants is amazing. At first, these were simple creations of ordinary size, later we had to define maximum dimensions in the competition rules due to transport and handling. Because creations after evaluation at Milk-Agro headquarters go to various shopping centers, this year the exhibition of winning creations is at OC EPERIA Prešov. Through exhibitions, the wider public can learn about the competition. Readers can also see creative works from SABI products on our website https://www.milkagro.sk/sk/sutaze or directly at https://sutaz.milkagro.sk, where there is also an archive of creations and songs.
What further increased the competition’s visibility?
Probably the most is that awarding winning schools and best collectors since 2010, besides handing out prizes at Milk-Agro headquarters and two editions at PKO Prešov, has also expanded to the Integration concert. The whole gala evening, hosted by celebrities, is always an extraordinary cultural experience for winning schools and their students. Students have the chance to see famous TV personalities live. They also have the opportunity to meet successful athletes, even travel to see them play in stadiums. For example, winners of the previous year met Juraj Kucka, a Slovak national player currently playing for AC Milan, and Marek Hamšík, one of Slovakia’s best players, currently at SSC Napoli. Winners this year met Stanislav Lobotka, Slovak football midfielder and national team member, playing for Celta Vigo since 2017, and Róbert Mazáň, also a Slovak national team defender, playing for Celta Vigo since 2018. Spanish Celta is near Portuguese Porto, where another Slovak national Marek Čech plays; winners also met him. An unforgettable experience for winners was also attending an audience with Pope Francis in Rome. This year, 1,200 children from our competition will attend the Integration concert on October 10, 2018, in Bratislava at Ondrej Nepela Stadium.
From how many schools and by what criteria do you select children for the concert?
More than 300 schools from all over Slovakia actively participate in the competition. Schools that placed first in individual categories attend the concert, totaling 12 winning schools each year with 100 students, and of course, each year four best collectors of caps and tetrapaks also attend personally.
It will surely be an unforgettable experience for children, but the specific prizes are also a great motivation…
Definitely. Every year we reward a total of 130 winners in the form of schools, school canteens, and individuals. Prizes include winning vouchers for the school, principal, coordinator, best collectors and their parents, then material prizes for schools and individuals. A special reward for the best collectors is presented at the Integration concert, where each year a school also performs the winning song from the "Recycle and Win with MILK-AGRO" competition.
Congratulations to all winners and we wish the project many participants, as everyone wins in it.
