NEWS

The presentation of the Paper2U project was held at AUCA

April 14, 2023

#sustainable_auca

For about half a year, containers with the inscription: “Receipts only” have stood in different places at the university. Not everyone knows why these containers appeared at AUCA and why they collect receipts separately from other waste paper. To answer all the questions at once, Ayana Myrzabekova, the inspirer of the project, Paper2U eco-startup, was invited to AUCA.

The event started on the Forum. In her presentation, Ayana explained why she decided to tackle this problem and what has been done since the creation of the eco-startup. As you know, receipts are printed on special paper, and printing is done using special thermal printers. The composition of the receipts and tickets includes the substance bisphenol A, which has a structural similarity to estrogen. Bisphenol A can accumulate in the human body and cause cancer, infertility, obesity, and sexual dysfunction.

An international team of scientists has measured the levels of BPA in receipts in several countries and found it to be 30 to 100 times higher than the recommended levels set by the European Commission since January 2020. Moreover, 30% of receipts are recycled with waste paper to make new paper products, and as a result, BPA has been found in toilet paper, napkins, and food packaging.

Receipts in Kyrgyzstan are either thrown into the trash or handed over together with waste paper. For this reason, an eco-project for the correct processing of receipts (with the neutralization of bisphenol A) - Paper2U - was born.

The Paper2U team devised a way to neutralize the hazardous substance in the receipts and use the tabs to make paper.

After the presentation, the event participants moved to one of the library halls, where Ayana held a master class on making paper from recycled receipts. First, she explained the technological process of paper production and showed practically how it is done. After that, those who wished could try to repeat the process and make paper.

At the end of the meeting, participants wrote good wishes for the project.

The AUCA Civic Engagement Center organized the presentation and workshop as part of the Green AUCA and Green April project.

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