Students have a ball recycling plastic bags

NST
23 Aug 2010
V. Josephine

Edward Lee and Maya Karin with one of the balls. — By V. Josephine

SHAH ALAM: Ten giant balls made of 680kg of used plastic bags are on display at the Klang Valley-wide Plastic Bag Recycling Exhibition.  The balls were created by 20,000 students of 10 primary schools with the help of volunteers.  The eco-conscious students collected the plastic bags between June 1 and July 31.

They were from SK Bandar Baru Bangi Seksyen 7, SK Seri Tasik, SK Puchong Perdana, SK Bangsar, SK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn 2, SK Bandar Tasik Selatan, SK Seksyen 20, SK Bukit Jelutong, SK Puncak Alam 2 and SK Setiawangsa.

The exhibition, which took place at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil, was launched by Maya Karin, celebrity and founder of environmental initiative Maya Loves Nature, and Bukit Gasing state assemblyman Edward Lee.
The objective of the exhibition is to encourage the public to cut down on the use of plastic bags and recycle used ones. It is organised by Maya and the state government, with the cooperation of the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association, RapidKL, Alam Flora, 1Utama, Subang Parade and Aeon Co (M) Bhd. It ends on Sept 30.

The orbs can be viewed at various locations in Selangor, including Rapid KL Kelana Jaya LRT station, Rapid KL Ampang Park LRT station, Rapid KL Kerinchi LRT station, 1Utama Shopping Mall, Aeon-Mahkota Cheras and Subang Parade. "We are confident that, over time, the habit of reducing plastic bags will help consumers to learn to protect the environment," said Edward Lee. "Maya Karin is loved by her fans. We hope, with her support and leadership, the plastic-less Saturdays will encourage more people in Selangor to adopt a greener lifestyle." Statistics show that over eight billion plastic bags have been used in Malaysia and Selangor is a major contributor to that figure.

It is estimated that some two million plastic bags were saved in the first two months of the state government's No Plastic Bag Day campaign. "Through Maya Loves Nature and the Plastic Bag Recycling exhibition, we hope to increase environmental awareness," says Maya.

For details, visit www.selangor.gov.my/haritanpabegplastik