Paper Week 2 helps teenagers put theory into real practice
Paper Week 2 helps teenagers put theory into real practice
Bayu Dwi, Contributor, Jakarta
One morning, a group of students, still wearing their school
uniforms, lent a different atmosphere to West Plaza at the Bung
Karno Sports Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
The students sat and formed a circle while, in the center, an
instructor was busy giving instructions.
"Get a bamboo stick and a piece of paper. Then, put a bit of
glue on one side of the stick. Now glue it to the paper and cut
the remaining bamboo. Remember to make holes for the string," he
directed. The students followed his instructions and soon a small
kite was ready to fly.
Nearby, at GE Elfun Indonesia and the Indonesian Care for
Children Group (KPAI) stalls, volunteers assisted teenagers
recycle paper. Although the process was performed by young
students, the results were not disappointing.
"It's so cool. Programs like this help me learn about paper
recycling. It's like putting everything I know in theory into
practice," said Haryanti, a third year student at state junior
high school SMP 181 in Jakarta.
With her 14 friends, Haryanti listened to all of the advice
offered by volunteers. Their enthusiasm was obvious and, once in
a while, they asked serious questions or made humorous comments.
"The paper recycling demonstration is provided to teach
teenagers about the making techniques and, at the same time, also
explain how paper is made and the impact of paper waste on the
environment," said Aulia Esti, KPAI's chairperson.
During the process, the students are expected to understand
that a certain lifestyle, in this case unwise use of paper, has
negative effects on the environment, thus reducing the quality of
life.
The programs, including the kite making and paper recycling,
were only two of numerous Paper Week 2 activities recently
organized by the Public Media Aikon Foundation (YAMP).
For 12 straight hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Jakartans were
pampered with workshops focusing on the various uses of paper,
including origami making, traditionally made paper from West Java
daluang and the attractive paper umbrella from Tasikmalaya, West
Java.
During the event, the foundation also distributed information
about paper through leaflets, pocket books and souvenirs
displayed on unique panels.
Yogyakartan artist Samuel Indratma also took part in the event
by displaying his unique works using cardboard and paper.
Head of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal)'s
information center, Sri Hudyastuti, praised the event.
"I love programs like this. They are very good for increasing
people's awareness of the environment and are especially useful
for our teenagers," Sri said.
She believes young people should always be reminded of their
role in preserving the environment.
"They should not only know how to use paper, but must also
understand the effects of overusing or abusing it. Furthermore,
this program will make the participants realize that used paper
is still valuable, either in the form of recycled paper or made
into interesting souvenirs," Sri said.
According to Ukke R. Kosasih, a YAMP employee, the event also
created opportunities for the general public to learn how to
respect the use of paper. At the same time, participants could
also take part in paper-related discussions or enjoy art
performances.
Long regarded as one of mankind's greatest assets, paper is
often regarded as the right hand of culture and throughout time
has reflected the soul of civilization. Without it, history would
never have been recorded or memories could never have been saved.
Through the use of paper, wisdom, philosophy and science are
inherited.
However, countering its advantages, paper has also created new
headaches for mankind, as it possesses a terribly destructive
power. In order to produce a ton of paper, 17 trees must be cut
down and three cubic meters of land must be provided for its
disposal.
According to Sri Bebassari of the Agency for Assessment and
Application of Technology (BPPT)'s study group on waste
management systems, paper makes up a large proportion of waste
disposed of by people; in this case, in the form of garbage.
"Out of six thousand tons of Jakartans' garbage, 10 percent is
paper. We all must be aware of this and share ideas in finding a
relevant solution," Sri said.
"I've always said there are not so many people who'd like to
think about this problem. Maybe only 1 percent of the population
really take this problem seriously. On the other hand, every one
of us commits the same 'sin', throwing out garbage," she said.
Every day, she said, each person disposes about two to three
liters of garbage while, to make things worse, Jakartans do not
have their own waste disposal area.
"Today, the city is very much like a house without a toilet.
That's why, to eliminate waste problems, Jakartans have to rely
on its neighbor's facilities, in this case Bekasi. And recently,
Bekasi expressed its objection to being treated like a trash can.
Doesn't that make Jakarta's headache more severe?" the researcher
asked.
According to Sri, it requires a great amount of public
awareness -- more so than technology or the government's
involvement -- to tackle the problems of waste disposal.
"Programs like Paper Week are good because they involve public
participation. It's not easy to tackle the waste problem because
it's related to culture, not technology or management," she said,
adding that the application of the "3 R" (Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle) principle could be started from this activity and it
would make many realize the importance of reducing waste.