After five months of sorting through their school waste, SJK (C) Hwa Lian II has been crowned the winner of 2016 Pangkor Island School Recycling Competition followed by SK Seri Pangkor and SMK Seri Pangkor.
Open to all schools on Pangkor Island, the recycling competition ran from March until August and was targeted to raise awareness on the importance of coastal cleanliness and managing waste sustainably among the younger generation. A total of five schools took part in the competition which saw over 8676.5kg recyclable items collected. The top three winners received cash prizes of RM1500 for first place, RM1200 for second place and RM1000 for third place in addition to a certificate of appreciation.
“Pangkor Island School Recycling Competition is not just about winning a prize,” said Dr K. Kalithasan, project manager of Community-based Waste Management Project in Pulau Pangkor and coordinator of River Care Programme in GEC. “Through this fun competition, we are providing the school communities across the island with an opportunity to learn more about the economic and environmental benefits of recycling, and inspire their families to take similar actions both at home and in their communities.” He added that the competition encourages students to develop entrepreneurial thinking.
The recycling competition is part of an ongoing community-based waste management project in Pangkor Island that is currently being implemented by Global Environment Centre (GEC), funded by Vale in Malaysia and University of Queensland, Australia. The competition is supported by Perak State Education Department, Department of Irrigation and Drainage Perak & Manjung, Manjung District Council, Manjung District Education Office and SWCorp.
The event also saw the announcement of the Green Innovative Product Competition winner – a competition that encourages students to be innovative by creating useful products made from 70% of recycled or waste materials. The winner of the Green Innovative Product Competition received a cash prize of RM300.
