Paying School Fees through Wastes: The Experiences of an Eco Scholar

Abstract

This case study explores the experiences of an Eco Scholar as he pays his school fees from the sales of recyclables under the Eco Scholarship of a university. This special non-academic scholarship of a university in Central Visayas, Philippines covers the tuition fees and allowance of the scholar and gives hope to an aspiring Marine Engineering student to finish the program. As the scholar segregates bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes in the Materials Recovery Facility, the student reminisces his experiences as a child from a poor broken family, his financial constraints in college, and the challenges and joys of his present work. The narratives of this case also revealed the personality of the scholar, the qualities that an Echo scholar should possess, and the difficulties he encountered while at work. The scholar shares the values he learned from solid waste management, his day-to-day struggle to make ends meet, and his dreams and aspirations for the family.