Teacher Candidates ’ Views on the Zero Waste Project

This case study was carried out to determine the opinions of prospective science teachers about zero waste project. The study group of the research consists of 67 prospective teachers studying in the science education department at one university in Konya, Turkey. When the research results are examined, it is seen that the awareness of the science teacher candidates about the purpose and scope of the zero waste project is not sufficient. Most of the teacher candidates experience a lack of information about the zero waste project. The teacher candidates, who stated that they did not participate in any scientific activity related to the zero waste project, do not believe that this project has achieved its purpose. The results of the research show that informing about the zero waste project is not enough, many teacher candidates will graduate without having sufficient awareness. As researchers, we think that information about the scope, purpose and implementation steps of the zero waste project should be included more in education curricula, TV programs and scientific activities.


INTRODUCTION
Environment is the setting where living and non-living beings interact and live together in a balanced way (Erten, 2012). Since the earliest dates, human existence has always been in contact with the environment. This relationship has turned into a way that people harm the environment over time. Especially in recent years, natural disasters such as extreme drought, excessive rainfall, strong storms, extreme colds have occurred in different parts of the world.
These are not unexpected natural phenomena. These natural disasters are the results of human beings' ruthless and unconscious use of the environment (Erten, 2015). Especially in the mechanization process that started with the industrial revolution, environmental damage has reached a high level due to wrong practices. Since then, the pollution levels in the atmosphere have reached the highest levels in their history (Uglietti, Gabrielli, Cooke, Vallenlonga & Thompson, 2015). With the increasing severity of environmental problems and the situations caused by these problems in our age, these problems have ceased to be regional and have started to be addressed on a global scale (Mensah & Casadevall, 2019;Atmaca, Kıray, & Pehlivan, 2019;Tekbiyik & Celik, 2019;Yeni, 2015).  Erten & Atmaca Vol. 7, No. 1, 2021, p. 17-37 19 environment have begun to be included in education programs (Bakar, 2019;Frantz & Mayer, 2014). These efforts are used to raise awareness about the environment, to develop a positive attitude and to gain environmentally friendly behavior. Attention has been paid to providing environmental knowledge-themed courses and the relationship of these themes with other courses and disciplines at all levels of education from primary school to higher education (Derman & Gurbuz, 2018;Gunningham, Kagan & Thornton, 2004).  Vol. 7, No. 1, 2021, p. 17-37 20 cycle (Greyson, 2007

Research Instrument
In this study, an interview form

Data collection and analysis
The data of the research were collected by the researchers themselves.
The researchers distributed the interview form they developed to the pre-service teachers who made up the study group and asked them to answer them with their real feelings and thoughts without any time limit. While collecting the data, no time limit was given, and it was ensured Thus, the reliability of the study was provided. Expert opinion was taken while creating the questions of the measurement tool, and while the research data were analyzed, the researchers transferred the data objectively. Thus, the validity of the research was ensured.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this section, the findings obtained as a result of the analysis of the research data will be presented.

Question 1. What comes to your mind when zero waste is mentioned?
The first question asked to science teacher candidates is "What comes to your mind when zero waste is mentioned?" The answers given by the teacher candidates and the frequencies Jurnal Penelitian dan Pembelajaran IPA Erten & Atmaca Vol. 7, No. 1, 2021, p. 17-37 23 and percentages obtained from these answers are given in Table 1. and again only one of them said "Sustainable Development" comes to mind when zero waste is mentioned.

Question 2. Do you have any knowledge about zero waste project?
The second question directed to science teacher candidates is "Do you have any knowledge about the zero waste project?" The answers given by the teacher candidates and the frequencies and percentages obtained from these answers are given in Table 2. obtained from these answers are given in Table 3.  Table 4.

Question 5. What do you think the purpose of the zero waste project is?
The fifth question directed to science teacher candidates is "What do you think the purpose of the zero waste project?" The answers given by the teacher candidates and the frequencies and percentages numbers obtained from these answers are given in Table 5. obtained from these answers are given in Table 6 and Table 7. provided answers in the form of;

T.C. 36
"I think it generally succeeded because wastes are recycled to the environment in a healthy way thanks to recycling."

T.C. 45
"Yes. For example, the use of plastic bags has decreased by 80%. Generally, the use of cloth bags has become widespread."

T.C. 52
"Yes, I think. Because with recycling, wastes have entered our lives in a form that can be used. Many substances are recycled today."

Question 7. When you look around, do you think the zero waste project has succeeded? If you do not think, explain with the reasons.
When asked if the science teacher candidates see whether the zero waste project has been successful when you look around, about 82% of the candidates answered no (Table 7). When asked about the reasons for the teacher candidates why they answered as "No", the answers they gave are presented in the

T.C. 29
"I don't think so. When I look around, I still see a dirty environment. Wastes are collected indiscriminately and taken to garbage dumps. People are after consumption; they buy things they do not need. Instead of giving old or unused items to someone else, they throw them away."

T.C. 43
"I don't think so. Because people are not conscious, they throw waste into places instead of recycling."

T.C. 57
"I don't think. When I go to any picnic area, the environment is full of plastic waste."

T.C. 34
"I do not see. Because most people do not know about this project. People should be made aware of this."

T.C. 40
"I think that there isn't necessary infrastructure for collected garbage to actualize the zero waste project, so it has not been successful."

T.C. 47
"I think it is partially. But I think this awareness should be given to children by focusing more on this project."

T.C. 48
"Partially. In schools, importance is given, though not much. "

T.C. 58
"I don't know if it has succeeded completely, but compared to before, I see an increase in efforts to increase the recycling of waste materials."

Question 8. When you are asked to carry out the "zero waste" project in your schools when you become a teacher, what would you do about this project?
The eighth question directed to science teacher candidates is "When you are asked to carry out the "zero waste" project in your schools when you become a teacher, what would you do about this project?" The answers given by the teacher candidates and the frequencies and percentages obtained from these answers are given in Table 8.  (Erten, 2003).
Only in this way can the goals and principles of the zero waste philosophy be realized. The first thing that comes to mind of the teacher candidates was not to generate waste and prevent squandering, which can be interpreted as the purpose and scope of the zero waste project was not well understood.
When the teacher candidates Education is a process that should be given at an early age, so environmental education, which will be given for environmental problems such as zero waste that is the purpose of many