VISIT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF MY CITY

The schoolchildren of class 2A from Happy Choice School in Atyrau made their first visit to the Waste Management Facility of West Dala. The purpose of this unusual visit was a research project titled “Environmental Issues of My City”, carried out by two schoolchildren — Baltgimbayev Altair and Baibossyn Balis — under the guidance of their class teacher Larisa Puzanova-Chukalina. The project is being conducted as part of the national scientific competition “Zerde” for primary schoolchildren. This competition helps children develop their research skills and enhance their intellectual and creative potential. Over the past 20 years, about 500 projects from different regions of Kazakhstan have participated in Zerde annually.

In its anniversary year, West Dala decided to support young students by organizing a production tour of the facility, showing and explaining the company’s long-standing work in the integrated waste management. According to Tolegen Balgimbayev, the founder of West Dala: “Twenty years ago, I wanted to improve the environment in Western Kazakhstan because the region faced issues such as open-air waste burning, companies not knowing how to manage industrial waste, and people throwing garbage and cigarette butts on the streets… I wanted to contribute to improving the environment and shaping a new mindset about how we treat our surroundings.”

Today, West Dala is pleased to see that the spirit of caring for one’s environment is being passed down from generation to generation — even young schoolchildren are already thinking about the environmental issues of their city!