ETH students tackle waste problems

If you look at pictures of the Seychelles online, it seems to be the stuff of dreams: white beaches, turquoise seas, grey weathered granite rocks, palm trees, divers surrounded by brightly coloured fish. But what you will not see is the overflowing waste dump, the plastic bags blown away by the wind and the discarded cheap Chinese refrigerators. The Seychelles has an ongoing waste problem, and nobody’s talking about it.

The problem certainly struck Pius Krütli, Co-director of the Transdisciplinary Lab (TdLab) at ETH Zurich, during his sabbatical at the University of Seychelles in 2015. This led to the idea of an interdisciplinary case study on the waste problem in the Seychelles, which would form part of the Minor in Transdisciplinarity for Sustainable Development (TDforSD) for Master’s students at the Department of Environmental Systems Science and the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. “I persuaded both my co-directors at the TdLab to take part in this idea, and paved the way for discussions with the minister responsible in the Seychelles,” says Krütli.

The ETH students began the case study in February 2016. During the time leading up to the three-week field stage in the Seychelles, they carried out preparation work, developed the basic knowledge required, differentiated the issues and agreed the methodological tools to be used. In late June 2016, 18 Master’s students travelled to the Seychelles to begin their three-week placement. The students from Zurich met undergraduate students at the University of Seychelles and worked in mixed groups to focus on a particular issue relating to the main topic of waste.

Solid foundations for participation

“I enjoy working on complex, realistic issues in interdisciplinary teams,” says Till Schmid, Master’s student in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. “I found that this challenging working environment with scientists from different backgrounds on one side and those involved in politics, business and society on the other really motivated me.”

Jasmin Fetzer, an environmental sciences student at ETH Zurich, feels much the same way: “The approach to these case studies is the key to a successful project,” she says. “I found this case study to be the ideal complement to my own studies – it has a strong analytical chemical basis.”

Hard work outside the comfort zone

The ETH students had no special expertise in waste management and an initial challenge was getting to grips with this topic. For a week, they collected data, carried out about 200 interviews, analysed the legal situation and responsibilities, calculated material flows, and researched the effects of open landfill sites on the environment.

They studied organic waste, PET, glass and metals, and examined solutions to optimise the recycling process. They also carried out research into how consumers view the problem of waste, along with development scenarios for future waste management. Finally, the students presented their results to an audience that included the minister responsible.

A challenge: The students had to learn how to manage restrictions in their day-to-day work, as Michael Stauffacher, who worked with Krütli to instruct and train the students, explains: “The Seychelles was outside our comfort zone.”

Schmid confirms this: “The internet connections were extremely slow and made our online research more difficult; the public transport was unreliable. We had to quickly learn how to work around these issues.”

Great results in a short time

Both coaches Krütli and Stauffacher, along with the students, were very pleased with the outcome of the study project; in particular, the experience of working on a topic that does not end up in a drawer was extremely satisfying. “The results of the case study are very impressive,” say Krütli and Stauffacher in unison, “and the students really experienced an adventure – one that occasionally pushed them to their limits!”

Karl Fleischmann, a former ETH lecturer who now works as a teacher and researcher at the University of Seychelles, was instrumental in the success of the field stage. He has a very positive view of the event: “This was a very important learning experience for our students and the ETH students were in many ways role models for them. However, the ETH students also benefited from the case understanding provided by our students and the easy access to stakeholder groups and high-ranking politicians.”

Fetzer had the same opinion: “One of the nicest experiences was when I realised that we had really achieved positive things here and that something good may come out of our work.”

She also found the collaboration with her island counterparts to be highly informative: “It was straightforward, rewarding, educational, amicable, sometimes stressful and often fun.” Fetzer says that initially it was difficult to find a communication and working level in order for the Swiss students to collaborate productively with the students from the Seychelles. “This was down to a lack of clarity on the exact nature of the collaboration – on both sides. We had to build up trust in order to communicate more openly,” explains the environmental sciences student.

New government position on waste?

As a first response to the case study, the Seychelles now aims to appoint a director of waste. The island nation lacks a central body responsible for waste; the Principal Secretary is technically in charge, but has a very broad portfolio of responsibilities. Waste issues form one of many items on the agenda. “Our students’ work has brought things a step further,” says Krütli. He is certain that the island government will take further steps as soon as the final report by the students is available.

Schmid is also positive that the island’s government is taking the students’ work seriously: “The fact that we worked very closely with the government is a very positive sign. Of course, I’m really interested to see what will be done with our results in the future and I’m keen to follow events as they progress.”

Fetzer emphasises that she was pleasantly surprised at the way in which their work on the Seychelles was received, but she is somewhat sceptical as to whether waste management will really change over the next few years: “It’s very difficult to answer this question, because it requires a great deal of political will and resources – however, I hope that we were able to provide a positive impetus.”

ETH group aims to continue

Krütli is already thinking about a further case study in the Seychelles on the same topic: “Waste remains an important theme.” He wants to use this impetus to keep the momentum going; additional Master’s work will be done on the waste issue and other topics relevant to the Seychelles before the next case study in 2018.

In addition, he will work on location with three students as tutors for the undergraduate students in 2017 to tackle a similar topic – namely, the avoidance of waste on campus.