By Chai Xin Jie
MAIN CAMPUS, 4 May - Group 21 students of Rancangan Khidmat Komuniti (RKK) successfully organised an event, themed ‘Sustainability & Paper Straw Workshop’ on 4 May 2024 from 8.30 am to 11.30 am. This event collaborated with Dr. Mohd Saiful Samsudin, senior lecturer of the School of Industrial Technology. Around 30 participants joined this event.
Project director, Chen Zi Yi explained that the purpose of this event was to raise awareness of plastic pollution and teach participants how to make paper straws. Understanding and practical skills were used to enable people to adopt sustainable habits and fight plastic waste in their communities. It promoted meaningful action towards a greener, plastic-free future through participatory sessions.
Dr. Mohd Saiful Samsudin is explaining the slide about plastic. Picture by Chai Xin Jie
“Out of all environmental issues, we found that microplastic pollution has been a hot topic among researchers but has been given very little attention from the public. Hence, we hope inviting an expert in microplastic to give a talk to the public is a good idea. We also held this event to show participants a simple way to reduce plastic pollution as a student,” Chen said.
“We are very sure that the participants had gained great exposure to microplastics, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, and the impact of microplastics on the environment and human health. During the event, participants made their own paper straws, learning about the importance of sustainable practices. This fun activity demonstrated how to create eco-friendly alternatives to plastic straws, encouraging greener habits,” he continued.
Tham Hock Seng, Housing Building and Planning 2, said he chose to join this event because he wanted to learn how to live in a good way for the environment. He was very interested in making paper straws instead of plastic ones because plastic waste is a big problem for the earth.
“Everyone enjoyed the hands-on activities at this event. Each participant receives coloured paper, chopsticks, and glue from the organiser. They must roll the colour paper using chopsticks and glue it. Next, dip the straw in molten wax. When wax solidifies, paper straws are done,” he said.
“I believe that promoting sustainability is a long-term process, and this event is simply a little step towards sustainability in USM. Everyone exposed to microplastic at this event will spread their knowledge and encourage more people to promote sustainability,” Tham added.
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