Bin Painting Competition in Cimahi Encourages Environmental Awareness

The Cimahi City Painters Communication Forum (Forkis) held a bin painting competition to encourage the public to adopt clean living habits while simultaneously beautifying public facilities at the Cimahi City Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) Pendopo, West Java, on Friday. The event involved approximately 180 participants from various age groups.

“Creative activities such as this also deliver environmental education messages to the community,” said Forkis Organizing Chair, Endang, in a statement on Monday.

He noted that the competition was designed as a community-based activity combining elements of art and environmental education, with the hope that the message of cleanliness could be received by the public in a lighter and more enjoyable manner. According to him, bins, which are traditionally seen as purely functional objects, can be transformed into attractive visual media, thereby encouraging residents to be more attentive to the public facilities around them.

The atmosphere was lively as participants came from various backgrounds, including students, art communities, and the general public. The painted bins are planned to be placed at several strategic locations throughout Cimahi City to serve as public facilities and as visual reminders for the community to maintain the cleanliness of public spaces.

Sambas, a member of the Cimahi City Department of Food Security, Agriculture, and Fisheries (DPKP), stated that the activity could serve as a simple way to build clean living habits starting from one’s immediate environment. “Environmental awareness begins with simple habits, such as disposing of waste in the correct place,” said Sambas.

Beyond being a competition, the event provided a space for interaction between the art community and the public, demonstrating that environmental education does not always need to be conducted through formal socialisation. For some participants, painting bins was a unique experience, allowing them to express creativity on an unusual medium while knowing their work would be used directly by the community. Through this initiative, the organisers hope that the public will not only view bins as waste disposal sites but also as part of the urban space that needs to be collectively maintained and cared for.