URJC students will take out the garbage of their neighbors who cannot do it

The initiative comes from the students of the Master's Degree in Labor Legal Advice and Professor María Begoña García Gil. The Madrid City Council collaborates with the project. The objective is to mainly protect older people from COVID-19 infection, but also to help those infected and people who cannot take out the garbage due to their particular circumstances.

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

Several students and a professor at the Rey Juan Carlos University have devised a way to help people in Madrid who, for various reasons, cannot take down their garbage for the duration of the quarantine decreed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

'YoTeAyudoConTuBasura', which is the name of the project, has the full collaboration of the Madrid City Council. Through this non-profit initiative, the young volunteers who participate must slide an information sheet under the door of their neighbor to inform them that, if they wish, from that moment on it will be the volunteer who will take your rubbish to the collection point.

The objective, as María Begoña García Gil, professor in the Labor Law and Social Security Area, explains, is to “eliminate the risk of contagion”.

To carry out this volunteering, the participants must respect the health indications and the measures of the State of Alarm at all times. They must handle the garbage with gloves, as well as the communication that they slide under the service user's door and they will only be able to help people in their neighborhood.

To participate, volunteers must provide the organization with a few pieces of information: name, the street they live on and the building number.

A group of Master's students will coordinate the groups of volunteers. Those who want help will only have to answer with a 'Yes' on the form, or leave the garbage bags at the door of their house.

The organizers expect “a great response”, as the URJC teacher points out, adding that “if it works in Madrid, we plan to extend it to other municipalities in the Community”.

"We must help the elderly as they have always helped us"

As Professor García Gil explains, it is our time to help everyone who needs it and, especially the elderly, who are the main risk group when it comes to being infected by the coronavirus, "we must help the elders like them have always helped us,” he says, recalling all the sacrifices these people have made throughout their lives.

To achieve the greatest possible participation, they have launched several communication channels through, fundamentally, social networks, with profiles on Instagram y Twitter. In addition, they have an email to which all queries can be directed: .