Ecobrick Challenge Emphasises Waste Management With Environmental Sustainability | Universiti Putra Malaysia
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Ecobrick Challenge emphasises waste management with environmental sustainability

By: Dr Roxana Dev Omar Dev

 

SERDANG – The Faculty of Educational Studies (FPP), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), has introduced the Ecobrick Challenge 2020 @ UPM (EBC2U) programme to raise awareness of environmental sustainability and to promote community behavioural health to students of SPE 3308 Community Health and Wellness.

The course is a compulsory minor course to be taken as part of the Bachelor of Physical Education programme under the Department of Sports Studies, Faculty of Educational Studies.

By linking the importance of waste management to environmental sustainability, the programme aimed to instil awareness among students in the Faculty of Educational Studies as well as UPM community.

Through this exposure, it is hoped that knowledge of students on waste management at home and at work could be improved when they graduate. In addition, it is also hoped that the college and faculty environment at UPM can be systematically maintained and sustained in the short and long term.

The Ecobrick Challenge 2020 @ UPM programme was initially designed for participants mainly UPM students living in the nine residential colleges in UPM.

However, following the Covid-19 pandemic, several changes were made by opening the competition to all UPM community staying in college and off-campus.

One main purpose of the programme is to strengthen the role of individuals in managing waste effectively for the well-being of local communities, as well as to increase the sense of responsibility and self-belonging as UPM community.

The programme is carried out in different phases.

The main organisers of the programme are course lecturer, Dr Roxana Dev Omar Dev and SPE 3308 students, under the support of the Faculty of Educational Studies and the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni), UPM.

Programme participants are residents/students/staff who reside/work at the colleges and faculties at UPM and under the supervision of SPE 3308 students who are appointed as the EBC2U ambassadors.

The appointed SPE 3308 students have been trained as facilitators to learn the correct methods of producing ecobricks by the experts of Impactlution to ensure the ecobricks are made in accordance with the specifications.

The ecobricks need to be made according to the specifications, for they can be used in construction such as fences, desks and chairs.

The competition started on 21 March and will end on 7 July.

An ecobrick is a plastic bottle that is packed with non-recyclable plastics to a set density, which are single-use plastics such as plastic bags, food packs and medicine packs.

So why make ecobricks? An ecobrick is a cheap and easy waste management solution as it does not require the expertise and high cost to produce the right ecobrick.

The ingredients needed to make ecobricks are just single-use plastics that have been cleaned and dried, a 1.5L bottled water bottle and a stick.

The production of ecobricks is divided into two phases. The first phase is the single-use plastic waste preparation phase which is collect, wash, and dry, while the second phase involves the compression of cleaned waste into a 1.5 L soda / carbonate water bottle.

An ecobrick that adheres to the specifications will look compact and dense from each angle and side of the bottle and weighs at least 500g. The method for making an ecobrick was prepared in a video format and the link was provided to the participants by the competition secretariat.

The participant who succeeds in making the most ecobricks by following the specifications will be crowned as the winner and will be given cash prizes. 

It is hoped that the programme will benefit and be carried out on a sustainable or continuous basis to contribute to fundraising, as well as to increase creativity in environmental sustainability among UPM community.

The production of ecobricks can also be used to fill time and hone the talents and innovations of UPM students who are still in their hometowns. - UPM

 

Date of Input: 03/07/2020 | Updated: 03/07/2020 | hairul_nizam

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