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.