Penang’s Real-Life Environmental Warriors

Posted on 10th October 2018 Print

Penang – Students from 109 pre-schools, primary and secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang or the Penang Island City Council (MBPP), became real-life environmental warriors when they collected a massive 151,615.54kg of recyclables in Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MBPP 2018.

The seventh edition of the Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MBPP was jointly organised by Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&NHB) and MBPP, and supported by the Penang Education Department and Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

With the aim of educating and inculcating the 5R philosophy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Reinvent in school students across Penang Island, Kempen Kitar Semula F&N & MBPP 2018 managed to increase the number of participants and total recyclables from 105 schools and nearly 145,000kg of recyclable materials respectively in last year’s campaign.

Speaking at the closing and prize giving ceremony, Cariessa Goh, Corporate Affairs Manager of F&NHB said that the Group is committed to developing good recycling habits among the young so that they will grow up to love and respect the environment.

“The earth is our home and it is our responsibility to take care of it for future generations. At F&N, we wish to mold children to become leaders who are inspirational and passionate about enacting positive environmental change for the betterment of the community at large.

“We are extremely proud of the students’ effort and dedication, under the guidance of their teachers in working together to accumulate the largest haul of recyclables per student. I truly applaud them for maintaining the recycling momentum throughout the campaign period. It was not an easy task but they proved that teamwork and keeping an eye on the end goal helped them to overcome the challenge and achieve their objective,” Goh added.

During the nine-month campaign which began on January 1 and ended on September 30, 2018, the participating schools shared a common passion for making the world a better place by collecting items such as paper, aluminium, plastics, beverage cartons and e-waste. This year’s campaign drew 23 pre-schools, 49 primary schools and 37 secondary schools that vied for RM27,460 in cash prizes for the highest recyclable materials collected per head in each school.

It was a sweet victory for last year’s third-place winner, SMK Convent Pulau Tikus as it led the pack in the secondary school category after collecting 27.9kg of recyclables per student, taking home a cash prize of RM1,400. Trailing behind was last year’s champion, SMJK Chung Hwa Confucian that collected 26.1kg of recyclables per student to win a cash prize RM1,300. SM Padang Polo clinched third position for accumulating 22.4kg of recyclables and went home with a cash prize of RM1,200.

The principal, teachers and students of SMK Convent Pulau Tikus could not contain their excitement after winning the secondary school category and special awards for the highest collection of beverage cartons segment and the most creative ‘Recycling Corner’ in the secondary school category.

SJK (C) Sin Min that claimed second spot in last year’s campaign, emerged champion of the primary school category with an average sum of 91.7kg of recyclables per student and won a cash prize of RM1,400. SK (C) Eng Chuan took second place with a collection of 88.5kg of recyclables and received RM1,300 while SJK (C) Hu Yew Seah maintained last year’s third position after accumulating 84.7kg of recyclables and took home RM1,200.

Dato’ Ar Yew Tung Seang, Mayor of the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) (standing third from left in the back row); Cariessa Goh, Corporate Affairs Manager of F&NHB (standing fifth from left in the back row); and Terrynz Tan, Cluster Circular Economy Manager, South Asia, East Asia and Oceania, Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (standing far right in the back row); with teachers and students from SJK (C) Sin Min, champions of the primary school category.

SK Balik Pulau was the defending champion of the pre-school category with a collection of 64.7kg of recyclables per student and brought home a cash prize of RM500. SK Tan Sri Awang Had Salleh took second place with 60.0kg of recyclables and won RM400 while SK Tan Sri P. Ramlee came third after accumulating 52.3kg of recyclable items and went away with RM300.

Four special awards were rewarded to the schools with the highest accumulated aluminium, plastics, e-waste and beverage cartons. SK Bukit Gelugor (pre-school), SK Convent Lebuh Light (primary) and SMJK Chung Hwa Confucian (secondary) were the winners in the plastics category. SJK (T) Sungai Ara (pre-school), SJK (C) Hu Yew Seah (primary) and SMJK Sacred Heart (secondary) each received the special award in the aluminium category. The special award for the beverage cartons category went to SK Tan Sri P. Ramlee (pre-school), SJK (C) Sum Min (primary) and SMK Convent Pulau Tikus (secondary). Meanwhile, SK (C) Eng Chuan (primary) and SMJK Union (secondary) won the e-waste category. The campaign also crowned SJK (C) Hu Yew Seah and SMK Convent Pulau Tikus for their ingenuity in creating the most creative ‘Recycling Corner’ in the primary and secondary school categories respectively.

Dato’ Ar Yew Tung Seang, Mayor of the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and a representative from Penang Education Department were present at the event. Terrynz Tan, Cluster Circular Economy Manager, South Asia, East Asia and Oceania, Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. was also in attendance.

For the complete list of winners please refer Appendix A.