CONCERNED over Malaysia being ranked eighth among the top 10 countries with mismanaged plastic waste in the world, JCI Tanjung Bunga in Penang has decided to organise a ‘Kami Jaga Alam Sekitar’ (We Take Care of the Environment) project for three months from this month until September.
Organising chairman Andrew Eng said the main objective of the project was to raise awareness among the public to take good care of the environment during this pandemic period, especially in reducing the usage of single-use plastics (SUP).
“Our project is aligned with the ‘No single-use plastic’ initiatives carried out by the Penang government. We want to protect our environment and ecosystem and to create a healthy environment for the community,” Eng said in a virtual press conference on ‘Kita Jaga Alam Sekitar’ project today.
Among those who took part in the virtual press conference were Pulau Tikus assemblyman Chris Lee Chun Kit, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) councillor Connie Tan, JCI Tanjung Bunga president Jia Dic, Penang Green Council assistant general manager Hoo Huey Ching and northeast district Youth and Sports officer Ebenezer.
Lee thanked JCI Tanjung Bunga for its green efforts as he acknowledged that plastic waste throughout the world is on the rise.
One study has estimated that Malaysia had produced 0.94 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste, of which 0.14 to 0.37 million tonnes may have been washed into the oceans. The study added that Malaysia is also a major importer of plastic waste, taking in 870,000 metric tonnes in 2018.
“It’s always very difficult (to tackle the problem) because of the convenience of plastic bags available when you go shopping instead of carrying your own bags. This has been taken for granted by people, who do not see the end result of that particular situation.
“The state government has spearheaded a lot of initiatives. Before that, plastic bags were widely available until the Penang government started to implement no free plastic bags.
“People then told us that we would be scolded, but come to think about it now, taking a recycle bag when going shopping is like a second nature to all of us. It is no longer an inconvenience.
“We’re still learning about how to reduce the use of single-use plastics. Five years ago we were used to using straws; now we’ve gotten use not to use straws already.
“We’ve to try our best not to use single-use plastic if it is avoidable.
“Let us work together; let us save our Mother earth so that one day, when we are no longer around, our great great grandchildren can thank us for it and remember that we help to save the earth for them,” Lee said in his speech.
Tan also commended JCI Tanjung Bunga for coming out with a timely project as she sees the usage of single-use plastics would continue to be on the rise in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are the largest consumer of single-use plastics in Asia according to wwf (World Wide Fun for Nature). To tackle this requires a lot of collective efforts from many parties.
“So with this campaign, we hope to see that the public is aware that it is important to strike a balance between convenience and sustainability. We need to know that plastic pollution is real and we want to instil in people’s minds that it is important to play our role and no one is too small to make a change,” Tan said.
She said the council (MBPP), on its part, had handed out recycle bags when they embarked on their BYOB (bring your own bag) and BYOC (bring your own containers) campaigns.
She added that JCI Tanjung Bunga’s efforts are in line with the state’s drive to make Penang cleaner, greener, healthier and safer and she expressed hopes that more partners would come on board.
Hoo said Penang Green Council was very happy to be one of the supporting partners in the project.
“We hope that all of us can unite together not only ‘Kita Jaga Kita’ during this difficult pandemic but also to take care of our environment.
“We hope everyone will participate actively in this project. It is never too late to make a small change as long as we start it now,” Hoo said.
The ‘Kita Jaga Alam Sekitar’ project has three main activities, namely SUP 3-Day Challenge; Go! Green Hero! and Light of Hope (lantern-making contest).
For the SUP 3-Day Challenge, a participant has to post a video (30-60 sec)/photo for three days continuously on social media to show how to reduce single-use plastics for your meal. Then, she or he has to tag three friends to do the same.
The closing date is until July 21.
Participants are entitled to a lucky draw of 10 pieces of ECOHUSK rice husk lunch box.
For Go! Green Hero! category, the competition is for food courts and kopitiam in Pulau Tikus area. Sellers have to request customers who bring their own takeaway containers to scan the QR code provided by the organisers.
The food court/kopitiam with the highest number of scanning will be the winner. The competition will run from Aug 1 to 31. The prizes are in the planning stage.
The ‘Light of Hope’ is a children lantern-making contest. Participants will be using ‘single-use plastic’ or recycled materials to make a lantern in conjunction with the Moon Cake Festival.
Parents are allowed to join their children in making the lanterns during the competition which will be carried through Zoom live. The competition date is Sept 5.
Vouchers will be given to the top three winners. There are also 15 pieces of Penang Green Council children face mask as lucky draw prizes.
For further details, visit https://www.facebook.com/jcitanjungbunga/
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alissala Thian