F&N “Recycle for a Life Cycle” Day Makes Recycling Fun

Seberang Perai, Penang — Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&NHB) stays committed to advocating the 5R philosophy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Reinvent amongst schoolchildren through the F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” Day, held for the first time here, in conjunction with Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MBSP 2020.

Co-organised by F&NHB and the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP), the F&N “Recycle for a Life Cycle” Day aimed at inspiring students to go green and be more environmentally aware in more imaginative and fun ways, centering around the 5R philosophy which promotes the right way of disposing wastes to ensure that recyclables do not contribute to the increasing amount of rubbish clogging landfills.

Supported by Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., the Penang State Education Department, recycling partners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the one-day F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” Day featured a plethora of fun and exciting activities to generate awareness and educate schoolchildren and their teachers on the many benefits of recycling and how incorporating the 5R philosophy in their daily lives can help conserve the environment.

The main highlight of the F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” Day was the campaign’s first ever poster design competition to empower schoolchildren to take the lead in protecting the environment. Themed “Recycle For A Life Cycle”, the poster design competition was aimed at raising awareness of recycling and fostering creativity by inspiring students to harness their thoughts and imagination to create ingenious posters with recyclable items.

Based on the format of the MasterChef competitive cooking television show, the F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” poster design competition encouraged students from participating primary and secondary schools under the purview of MBSP to think on their feet within the three-hour timeframe to develop the poster. During the competition, students from each school formed a team that consisted of five participants under the guidance of a supervising teacher. Each team then competed against one another by using only tools provided to them and recyclable materials which were prepared in the material room and only revealed to the participants once the contest began. Teams were only allowed to enter the material room three times to get the materials needed throughout the competition.

Speaking at the launch of the F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” Day, Cariessa Goh, Corporate Affairs Manager, F&NHB expressed the Group’s excitement about organising a whole day programme that focused on hands-on and interactive activities revolving around environmental preservation that were both educational and fun.

“As an organisation that advocates environmental conservation, F&N is constantly striving to raise awareness of recycling and the 5R concept as a whole so that our efforts can have a positive impact on the environment as well as the local community. The event with MBSP is even more meaningful as it is the first F&N “Recycle for a Life Cycle Day” to be held in Malaysia before we proceed to six other destinations across Malaysia.

“Every year, we try to incorporate fresh ideas into our school recycling campaign to ensure that students continue to get excited about recycling. We feel privileged to be able to organise the F&N “Recycle for a Life Cycle” Day with the main focus on the poster design competition, in hopes of inspiring the younger generation to adopt the 5R philosophy in their daily routine,” Goh added.

Besides fostering creativity and innovation, the F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” poster design competition helps the schoolchildren develop critical social and interpersonal skills as they interact with other team members to ensure that they reach their objective. It enables students to demonstrate their problem-solving and design skills as they compete against their peers to show how wastes can be given a new lease of life by repurposing them to become new products for everyday use or decorations which supports a circular economy. The students also learn the value of patience and hard work which makes them more confident and independent in facing life challenges and they are more likely to carry the lifelong skills into adulthood.

The competition helps improve communication skills as team members have to effectively communicate with each other to ensure that everyone’s idea is heard. They have to translate their thoughts and ideas quickly as they race against time to come up with their poster concept and design. The process helps build leadership qualities as team leaders have to be able to delegate members’ roles and responsibilities, inspire them and keep them organised so that the team is on the right track. Engaging with others under pressure makes for healthy setting for members to learn how to be team players. Additionally, the competition teaches team members about the importance of time management and discipline as they focus on their efforts to achieve success.

The first prize winners from both primary and secondary school categories will then compete against winners from the other six locations across Malaysia in June to be crowned the national champions. On top of that, the two champions from both categories will be awarded a 3D2N educational trip at the ECO Recycling Plaza, Petaling Jaya which consists of a visit to a recycling factory to allow students to learn more about environmental conservation and bridge the gap between recycling education and hands-on experience.

Launched by Yang Berhormat Tuan Phee Boon Poh, Penang State Exco for Environment, Welfare and Caring Society, the F&N “Recycle For A Life Cycle” Day also included a storytelling session led by celebrity radio deejay, Keanu Azman and emcee, Hani Fadzil, that aimed to spur the schoolchildren’s imagination and stimulate their curiosity about the 5R philosophy and how they can practise good recycling habits. Besides that, several informative booths were set up during the fun-filled day and the schoolchildren had the chance to participate in various types of educational and entertaining games made from recyclables. These activities offered a great way for the students to get engaged and excited about recycling.