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On November 21, 2025, it was that time again: the nationwide Read Aloud Day reminded us how important books, shared stories and real-life knowledge are. Kommunalservice Jena (KSJ) used the day to show the children how waste disposal really works and why environmental protection is not just a buzzword.
Plant manager Uwe Feige read to a pre-school group at the Jenzigblick daycare center. He took along the book "Ich habe einen Freund, der ist Müllmann" (I have a friend who is a garbage collector) - a title that shows what garbage collectors do every day. The books were procured via the Jenaer Bücherstube and provided by the Verband Kommunaler Unternehmen (VKU) as part of Reading Aloud Day. Each daycare center benefited from a book package, which the children then studied attentively.
Ulrike Schönfelder, our waste consultant, welcomed a 1st grade class from Saaletalschule to the KSJ depot. She read "Egon Eichhorn and the wild garbage in the forest" (on loan from the Ernst Abbe Library) and then showed the children around the site. She showed them step by step how waste is collected, sorted and processed - just as we have always done. The tour made it clear that waste management is not just a theory.
Our waste workers were also out and about: they read at the Weltendecker daycare center and the Bertolla daycare center (Jena-Nord & Winzerla). The colleagues answered many of the children's questions. Reading aloud day showed that the joy of reading arises where people take the time to read. And environmental awareness grows where children get real insights.
Many thanks to all those involved:
- to Uwe Feige for his commitment at the Jenzigblick daycare center,
- Ulrike Schönfelder for her commitment and the guided tour of our premises,
- to our waste workers Enrico Scheller and Sebastian Körber, who read aloud in various daycare centers and thus gave many children a special morning, and to the Association of Municipal Enterprises, which provided the books.