Major Triumph For First Ever Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MPSJ

Subang Jaya – Students from 29 primary and secondary schools in Subang Jaya channeled their inner eco-warrior after successfully collecting 18,328.12kg of recyclable waste in the inaugural Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MPSJ 2018.

Held from March 1 to August 31, 2018, Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MPSJ 2018 was co-organised by Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&NHB) and the Subang Jaya Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ), and supported by the Selangor State Education Department and Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

The six-month school recycling campaign was aimed at educating and generating awareness of the importance of recycling among school children, based on the 5R philosophy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Reinvent.

According to Cariessa Goh, Corporate Affairs Manager, F&NHB, educating the children at a young age is crucial as they have the potential to become the biggest advocates for environmental conservation when they grow up.

“Instilling good recycling habits in the young will ensure that they will continue practising these habits into adulthood and influence their parents, family and friends to take action and bring change to the environment. Hence, as adults, we need to educate the children to better understand the importance of caring for the environment, to help create a more sustainable future for generations to come.

“I am truly pleased with the success of the maiden Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MPSJ and I am confident that the accomplishment is a stepping stone for greater conservation efforts and inspire the children to value the world they live in. I would like to express my appreciation to the students, principals and teachers for their cooperation and commitment in making the first ever recycling campaign a success,” Goh added.

Throughout the campaign, 15 primary schools and 14 secondary schools across Subang Jaya worked hard to accumulate the largest haul of recyclable materials including paper, plastic, aluminium, beverage cartons and e-waste, per student as they vied for RM14,800 in prize money.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Subang Utama topped the secondary school category and took home a cash prize of RM1,000 while Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 13 received RM800 for winning second place. It was a close call for Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 23 that took third spot and went home with a cash prize of RM600.

Puan Quzaimah Sariff, Secretary of Student Affairs at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Subang Utama expressed her shock and excitement after winning first place. “We did not expect to win. Nevertheless, our school is very honored and thankful to receive this award. The campaign has changed our students’ mindset and encourage them to pick up good recycling habits.

“Recyclable items are now considered gold to our students whereas before they would only see them as rubbish. I am truly proud of their achievement and hope that they will continue with the habit. It is never too late to make a difference. It is still possible to cultivate the importance of recycling regardless of age. You are able to make that change,” she said enthusiastically.

Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama (2) was crowned the champion of the primary school category, bringing home a cash prize of RM1,000. Second position went to Sekolah Kebangsaan SS19, winning RM800. Sekolah Kebangsaaan USJ 2 won third place and took home a cash prize of RM600.

Determined Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama (2) was in it to win it. Puan Hjh. Suzana Abdul Latip, the school’s Principal explained how they were driven and committed to winning the campaign since day one. “We had our eye on the main prize when we decided to partake in the campaign and we were confident that we could win. However, we understood that it would take a lot of hard work, teamwork and sacrifice to realise our dream. Besides motivating the students to recycle, we took steps such as planning and delegating our duties amongst teachers and school staff in order to achieve our target.

“It is crucial to make the students understand the importance of recycling and empower them to take responsibility in keeping the environment clean and healthy. As we encourage the students to recycle, over time, parents would be involved as well by helping their children. She stressed on the importance of recycling among students. The campaign has shown that even small efforts by everyone involved can make a big difference,” she added.

Special awards were also handed out to the schools with the highest accumulated aluminium, plastic, beverage cartons and e-waste materials.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 13 received RM700 for winning the special award for the highest aluminium accumulated in the secondary school category. Sekolah Kebangsaaan Puchong Perdana was declared the winner of the primary school category and won a cash prize of RM700.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 13 added another feather to its cap by winning the special award for the highest collection of plastic materials in the secondary school category, bringing home a cash prize of RM700. Sekolah Kebangsaaan Puchong Utama 1 won the special award for the largest collection of plastic materials in the primary school and took home cash prize of RM700.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 13 won its third special award for the highest collection of beverage cartons in the secondary school category and took home RM700. Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama (2) clinched the same award in the primary school category and won RM700.

As for the highest collection of e-waste, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 8 took the special award in the secondary school category and received RM500 for their hard-earned effort. Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama (2) won its second special award in the primary school category, bringing home RM500.

Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MPSJ 2018 also encouraged students to unlock their creativity by developing daily and decorative items out of recyclable waste. Schools that displayed a high level of creativity and ingenuity in creating items out of recyclables collected were then rewarded in the Invention Competition.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seksyen 3 Bandar Kinrara won first place in the secondary school category and received RM800 for their imaginative invention of an electronic pencil sharpener. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Serdang took second spot and won RM600 for designing a stationery case while Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 13 won RM400 after securing third position with its table lamp.

Encik Syaiful Azmi Bin Abdul Manan, an academic teacher from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seksyen 3 Bandar Kinrara explained that he encouraged the students to unleash their creativity by telling stories about his experience in participating in innovation competitions during secondary school.

“The idea of creating an electronic pencil sharpener by using recyclables started when one of my students got injured while using a manual pencil sharpener. With only the help of two other students, we planned on how to save cost while creating a safe invention out of recyclables. The electronic pencil sharpener works simply by inserting the pencil stick that you want to sharpen in the nozzle of the bottle cap and then press the on/off switch on the existing body of the bottle, which will sharpen the pencil automatically. The excess chunks of the sharpened pencil will accumulate in the recycled bottle. Then, open the body of the bottle to dispose the sharpened debris of the pencil,” he said. Encik Syaiful added that he would meet up with the students every day after school to finish the project and he was happy that their effort and determination have borne fruit.

In the primary school category, Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama (2) clinched first place for its invention of a rubbish bin, winning RM800. SJK (C) Lick Hung won second place and took home RM600 for inventing a watch out of recyclables. Third spot went to Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama and was gifted with RM400 for its creation of a container for hydroponic plants.

Yang Dipertua Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya, YBrs. Puan Noraini binti Roslan attended the closing and prize giving ceremony, alongside Terrynz Tan, Cluster Circular Economy Manager, South Asia, East Asia and Oceania, Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.; and management of F&NHB.

For the complete list of winners please refer Appendix A.