BINTULU: There is a need to inculcate the culture of recycling in Malaysians, especially the children.

As such, Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said since the level of environmental awareness in the country was less than 10 per cent, more efforts must be carried out by relevant agencies to achieve the 22-per cent target of waste recycling activities by 2020.

He said this during the ‘3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Inspiring Innovation and Music with Nature 2016’ programme at the civic centre here yesterday.

“Recycling presents many advantages to the community, economically and socially.

“However, in the people’s mind, recycling is only limited to utilising recycle bins. Thus, the local authorities must be more effective when it comes to promoting recycling activities,” said Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneurs Development, Trade and Investment.

The state government, he pointed out, had its own set of ordinance to protect and preserve the environment, especially on matters relating to solid waste management.

“Based on monitoring by Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB), the total volume of solid waste at 49 waste disposal sites increased from 1,954 metric tonnes in 2014, to 2,187 metric tonnes in 2015.

‘This means that each household produces about 1kg of solid waste per day. If this trend continues, then the local authorities would have to spend more allocations to collect, transport and dispose of the waste,” he said.

Meanwhile, Asean Bintulu Fertilizer Sdn Bhd (ABF) managing director and chief executive officer M Zainol Mohd Zin said as part of its effort to promote environmental awareness among members of the public, its parent group Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) had organised an annual competition to inculcate the 3R in school children.

He said this competition was held in collaboration with NREB, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) and Bintulu Education Office. This year, it involved more than 750 participants demonstrating their skills and putting their imagination to the test in creating useful items and also performing musical performances through the use of instruments made from recycled materials.

“This campaign started in 2009 and it is one of PCG’s CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities, aimed to enhance the awareness of 3R among members of the public, especially the local communities in the areas where PCG operates.

“We also believe that the 3R programme is a good platform to instil accountable waste minimisation and recycling habits in youths, towards sustaining our environment for the benefit of the current and future generations.”

This programme, Zainol said, focused on the importance of minimising the impact of waste on the environment. Specifically, the competition was divided into two categories — ‘Inspiring Innovation’ and ‘Music with Nature’. Under ‘Inspiring Innovation’, SK Jepak was the winner in the primary school sub-category, followed by SK Sebauh and SJKC Sebiew Chinese as first and second runners-up respectively; while Kolej Vokasional Bintulu aced the challenge ahead of SMK Kidurong and SMK Sebauh in the secondary school sub-category.

Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus emerged triumphant in the institution of higher learning sub-category, leaving Advanced Technology Training Centre (Adtec) and Mara Skills Institute (IKM) at respective second and third place.

In the ‘Music with Nature’ category, Teachers Training Institute (IPG) Miri took first place in the government agency sub-category, followed by Laku Managament Sdn Bhd (Laku) and MLNG Sdn Bhd. SMK Baru tops the schools sub-category, with SMK Tatau and SMK Bandar in second and third place respectively. The winning teams received cash prizes, trophies and certificates.

Awang Tengah was accompanied by Resource Planning and Environment Ministry permanent secretary Datu Sudarsono Osman, state NREB quality controller Peter Sawal, Bintulu Resident Muhamad Yakup Kari and BDA deputy general manager Mohd Bohari Kipli.