The Dan Region Association’s Center for Environmental Education opened in 2007 at the heart of the Hiriya site. This is the largest such center in Israel for education and outreach on issues of waste and consumerism. The center opened in the historic building of Israel’s first compost factory, which closed in the 1960s. The building was redesigned in accordance with the environmental principle of re-using discarded materials. The location of the Center and its unique design using waste materials found in the Recycling Park are an expression of a holistic educational approach promoting integration of a sensual-emotional experience with presentation of current knowledge and advanced approaches to the issue of our consumer culture and waste management. This advanced model is intended to enhance the visitor’s experience and to demonstrate the problematics of excessive consumption and increased waste generation on the one hand, while on the other hand offering relevant applicable solutions. The Center also intends to educate visitors to assume personal responsibility and deepen the public’s commitment to mending our social-environmental conduct.
Tours and Learning:
Numerous visitor groups arrive at the Center and enjoy a fascinating tour of the story of waste in Israel, as reflected in the Recycling Park. The visitors tour the Recycling Park and the waste transfer stations, they take part in debates concerning consumer culture, they attend hands-on creative workshops and climb to the lookout, from where they can survey their surroundings from the top of the rehabilitated Mountain of Waste.
The Center operates a range of tours tailored to all ages and purposes:
