By: Nurul Ezzaty Mohd Azhari
Photo: Saleha Harun
SERDANG, Oct 18 – For the past 10 years, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has collaborated with Coca-Cola Malaysia to develop the Recycle@U campaign to educate campus residents to cultivate recycling practices.
Rubbish strewn all over and uncontrollably, especially plastic, ends up in the sea and indirectly contributes to environmental pollution and affects marine ecosystems.
UPM's Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic & International), Prof. Dr. Ismi Arif Ismail, said that UPM was moving towards zero plastic waste, especially to continue to adopt eco-friendly practices on campus and reduce the carbon footprint on campus.
“The recycling practice should be deeply ingrained in all staff and students to improve the quality of wellbeing at UPM. We want to ensure that there is no plastic pollution.”
"We need to continue the green sustainability agenda in UPM with excellence, and all UPM citizens need to know about recycling to achieve an environmentally friendly ecosystem," he said at the opening of biology week at the Faculty of Science, here today.
He added that plastic is a part of our lives because most of the things we use are plastic-based, such as food packaging, disposable plastic bottles, and so on.
“The use of plastic seems trivial, but it needs to be managed properly because where the plastic waste ends up will affect marine life such as turtles and fish.”
“It will have an indirect effect on people because we are consuming the resources in the sea. Pollution will not be reduced unless education, knowledge, and awareness reach the grassroots,” he said.
Syed Alif Imran Syed Khairil Akbar, 24, a Ph.D. student in genetic conservation, said the university could educate students by giving merit rewards to those who practise recycling.
As a Recycle@U volunteer, he added that his department also plans to carry out recycling activities while cycling to maintain a healthy lifestyle while protecting the environment.
