Circular Education: A Living Methodology for Zero Waste Schools

• Grant number: 25/23121-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Specific topics in Education
• Principal Investigator: Vivian Lara dos Santos Silva Rossignolo
• Grantee: Júlia Oliveira Volpe
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 25/13743-9 - CIRANDA PROJECT: Science, Education and Culture for Circularity and Sustainability, AP.R

Abstract

This project aims to develop and test a living and replicable methodology of Circular Education focused on transforming public schools into Zero Waste territories. The proposal is grounded in the experiences accumulated by the All4Food Network in collaboration with EMEF Zuleika Vélide de Franceschi Velloso (Pirassununga-SP), which has served as a real laboratory for the co-creation of educational experiences centered on sustainability, reuse, and environmental co-responsibility. The school is understood as a strategic space for cultural formation, capable of driving social transformation when it mobilizes students, families, teachers, and administrators as multipliers. The initiative will be developed in close cooperation with the Municipality of Pirassununga and is part of the ecosystem already fostered by the "Pirassununga More Sustainable" Project, which brings together FZEA/USP, FEA-RP/USP, FCE/UNESP, EQ/UFRJ, and UFSC. The proposal is also supported by two major ongoing projects: the CCD Circula FAPESP - Science Center for the Development of Solutions for Post-Consumer Waste: Packaging and Products (Process No. 21/11967-6), in which the proponent of the CIRANDA Proposal coordinates Platform 5 - Education for Circularity; and the PONTES/CNPq Project, entitled "Opportunities for Social Transformation through Sustainable Innovation for a Culture of Food Appreciation," approved under the 2025 Talent Attraction Call, also under the supervision of the proponent. Additionally, the project, grounded in innovative university outreach, allows undergraduate students to act as field educators, promoting transformative educational practices while developing themselves as more conscious and better-prepared professionals and citizens. This project thus understands the school as a powerful territory for the articulation of knowledge, practices, and affection, where circularity, care, and co-responsibility are interwoven through concrete experiences. (AU)