The objective of this study is to examine how some preschool teachers working with recycling materials in Reggio Emilia inspired preschools. The study questions are "Why do educators in Reggio Emilia inspire preschools to use recycling materials in their preschools?" And "What is the purpose of educators with recycling materials?"   This research was done in the form of qualified interviews with five pre-school teachers and a studio carving. The qualified interviews were done in three kindergartens located in the same unit in a town outside Stockholm. These kindergartens are inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy and they use the recycling materials in its operations.   The study is based on theories Vygotskijs both socio-cultural perspective and internalizing and Reggio Emilia philosophy. Vygotskijs point out that children learn through interaction with others. Reggio Emilia philosophy is based on a democratic thought, a deep respect for children and a believer in the ability of children to explore the world.   Data collection for the study were analyzed and reported after dividing it into different categories. The categories are under the heading of "Educators knowledge of the Reggio Emilia philosophy," "The compelling perspectives of Reggio Emilia," "Educators awareness of recycling materials," "Educators approach to recycling materials" and "Responsive educators". Findings show that all the participating preschool teachers are aware of what the term means recycling materials. They also have a full understanding of how they should relate to recycling materials and they have an underlying purpose to reuse materials in their operations.

Den ökade konsumtionen i dagens samhälle leder till en större efterfrågan på nya råvaror. Samtidigt är jordens resurser begränsade och råvarupriserna höjs i samband med att resurserna håller på att ta slut. Därför är det viktigt att ta till vara på de resurser som finns genom att öka nyttjandegraden av material och sluta produkters livscykler, då kan materialet återvinnas och återanvändas vid tillverkning av nya produkter. Om tillverkande företag väljer att använda återvunnet material i sin produktion sparas jordens resurser in eftersom inte en lika stor mängd jungfruligt material behövs. Det bidrar till en ekologisk vinst som i vissa fall också kan leda till en ekonomisk vinst. Syftet med arbetet var att undersöka om materialåtervinningen kan göras ekonomiskt lönsam för de företag som väljer att sluta produkters livscykler och samla in returmaterialet. Detta genomfördes genom att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar den ekonomiska lönsamheten i värdekedjan och hur insamlingssystemet bör utformas för att maximera mängden insamlat installationsspill. För att kunna genomföra arbetet har vetenskaplig litteratur i form av rapporter och artiklar studerats för de ämnesspecifika områdena som studien behandlar, dessa stod till grund för rapportens teoretiska del. Sedan genomfördes en empirisk datainsamling i form av kvalitativ numerisk data, intervjuer hölls med golvläggare och logistikansvarig för extern returmaterialshantering. Utöver detta genomfördes observationer av uppvisade beteenden relaterat till insamling av installationsspill ute på byggarbetsplatser. En kvantitativ fältstudie genomfördes också som inkluderade respektive installationsprojekt. Resultatet av studien visar att generellt sätt är golvläggare positiva till att samla in returmaterial utan att företaget får betalt genom ekonomiska styrmedel så länge insamlingen inte medför något extra arbete. De resterande aktörerna i den omvända flödeskedjan har ett större ekonomiskt incitament än ett ekologiskt incitament till att medverka för att samla in returmaterial. Det försvårar för producenten att skapa en ekonomiskt lönsam returmaterialshantering då det skapas höga kostnader som produktens vinstmarginal ska klara av att täcka. Transport är den faktor som ackumulerar störst kostnad per insamlad enhet. För att sänka kostnaderna är det nödvändigt att returmaterial i höga kvantiteter och med hög kvalitet samlas in. Om ett företag lyckas skapa en lönsam returmaterialshantering kan det leda till minskade kostnader i form av material- och produktionskostnader. Resultatets betydelse från studien är viktig då det saknas studier som direkt behandlar och visar hur returmaterialshantering kan genomföras och göras ekonomiskt lönsam. Därmed bidrar studien till vidare diskussion och inspiration. Studien avgränsas till att analysera den ekonomiska lönsamheten av den externa returmaterialshanteringen. / The increased consumption in the modern society leads to a higher demand for new raw materials. At the same time, the earth's resources are limited and the prices increase when the resources decrease. Therefore, it is important to take advantage of the resources by increasing the utilization rate of material and close product lifecycles. The material can be recycled and reused in the manufacture of new products. If manufacturing companies choose to use recycled materials in their production the earth’s resources would be saved because less virgin material is needed. This contributes to an ecological profit which in some cases may also lead to a financial gain. The purpose of this work was to investigate whether recycling of materials could be economically profitable for the companies that choose to close product lifecycles and collect the end-of-use material. This was done by examining the factors that affect the economic viability of the value chain and how the collection system should be designed to maximize the amount of collected installation waste. In order to implement the work, scientific literature in the form of reports and articles are studied in the subject-specific areas that the study covers, these were the basis for the report's theoretical part. An empirical data collection was also done in the form of qualitative numerical data, interviews were held with flooring contractors and the logistics manager for external recycled material, and observations were conducted of exhibited behaviors related to the collection of installation waste out on construction sites. A quantitative field study was also conducted which included each installation project. The results of the study show that the flooring contractors are generally positive to collecting recycling material without any financial benefits as long as it does not involve any additional work. The remaining companies in the reverse supply chain have a higher financial incentive than an ecological incentive to participate and collect recycling material. This makes it difficult for the producer to create an economically viable collection system of recycling materials since it creates too high costs for the product's profit margin to be able to cover these costs. Transport is the factor that accumulates the highest cost per collected unit. To reduce the costs it is necessary to return material in high quantities and with high quality. If a company manages to create a profitable return of used materials it can lead to reduced costs in terms of material and production costs. The impact of the result is important because there are no or just a few previous studies that directly treat and show how a system of collecting recycling material can be implemented in a company and be economically viable. The study contributes to further discussions and inspiration. The study is limited to analyzing the economic viability of the external collection system of recycling material.

Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:36:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009 / O presente estudo caracteriza-se por ser uma pesquisa qualitativa em saúde e ambiente, que tem como objetivo conhecer a percepção de riscos ambientais e as estratégias de enfrentamento dos problemas de saúde e ambiente dos trabalhadores(as) catadores(as) de materiais recicláveis, do Aterro Controlado de Jardim Gramacho (ACJG), de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro/RJ. Como instrumento de coleta de dados, optou-se pela entrevista semi-estruturada com informantes-chave, complementada com a observação participante e com registros feitos a partir de caderneta de campo. Foram entrevistados(as) vinte e nove trabalhadores(as) catadores(as), sendo treze pertencentes à Associação dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis de Jardim Gramacho (ACAMJG) e dezesseis da Cooperativa de Gramacho (COOPERGRAMACHO), sendo catorze homens e quinze mulheres, com uma média de idade de 40 anos. Estes trabalhadores atuavam como catadores, em média, há quinze anos e apresentavam baixo nível de escolaridade, sendo cerca de 17% de analfabetos e 65% com ensino fundamental incompleto. Os dados, analisados por meio da Análise do Conteúdo, geraram resultados que evidenciaram ser a catação de materiais recicláveis, no ACJG uma atividade perigosa e insalubre, embora, constitua-se na única forma de sobrevivência da grande maioria dos trabalhadores(as) catadores(as). A análise da percepção de risco ambiental mostrou que, em razão dessa luta pela sobrevivência, os trabalhadores negligenciavam aspectos mínimos de segurança, minimizando os riscos e, em muitos casos, negando o perigo, configurando uma ideologia defensiva no grupo que, em última instância, era o mecanismo encontrado para o enfrentamento das cotidianas situações de risco a que estão submetidos, de modo a permitir sua manutenção na prática da catação. / This study is based on qualitative environmental health research techniques, aiming to understand risk perception among recycling material collectors working in a controlled sanitary garbage deposal unity in Jardim Gramacho (ACJG), Duque de Caxias Municipality, Rio de Janeiro State. As a data collection instrument, semi-structured interviews with key-informants were used, complemented with participatory observations with field notebook registers. Twenty-nine workers were interviewed, thirteen from the Jardim Gramacho Collectors Association (ACAMJG) and sixteen from the Gramacho Cooperative (COOPERGRAMACHO), fourteen men and fifteen women, with 40 years-old in average. These workers were in recycling material collecting business for fifteen years in average and had a low educational level, being 17% of them illiterate and 65% with incomplete elementary school degree. Data analyzed using Content Analysis techniques revealed that recycling material collecting is a dangerous and unhealthy activity, but is the only activity available for the workers survival. Risk perception analyses showed that due this survival need, most of the workers neglected environmental and health risks and minimum safety procedures, characterizing risk denial and danger minimizing. This configured a defensive ideology that, in a complementary analysis, the pathway these workers found to face risk situations common in their work quotidian.