5th Article IPTS : Students recycle items into eye-catching stuff

ECO FRIENDS:Sunway College Johor Baru students show they can be both environmentally conscious and creative when they marked Earth Day recently
1 / 4   Themed "Earth Day Every Day", college principal Hor Poh Choo said the event aimed to cultivate a caring attitude towards Mother Nature among youths, raise awareness and involve students and the public in the environment protection movement.
   One of the main programmes of the day was the Recycling Awareness Project which is a campus-wide joint effort between staff and students whereby items made from paper, plastic and aluminum were collected for recycling.
   Information technology diploma student, Choong Han Sheng, 19, said the papers he collected for recycling were  mainly contributed by his relatives and friends.
   "I enjoyed the whole process of collecting and recycling because I know I am doing something very meaningful," explained Choong.
   Another student, Kow Yong Hui, 19, said, "We should learn to be more mindful of the environment and not to simply waste resources."
   A competition, "Re-Create", was held and the  pre-university, diploma, degree and professional accounting programme students were challenged to produce an item by re-using everyday materials such as magazines, aluminum cans, envelopes, plastic bottles and newspapers within 30 minutes.
   "The whole idea behind this competition is to test the creativity of the students and to help them realise how used materials could be re-used," said lecturer Thevidarsny Kaliapan who was in charge of the competition.
   A group of  A-Level  students won the hearts of the judges with their masterpiece which took the shape of a poodle.
   Team member Haran Mohanadas, 19, said, "We didn't just want to make something which served no purpose so we came up with an idea of a decorative cum storage object."  
   Another event held in conjunction with the event was the "Eco-Fashion" competition, coordinated by English lecturer, Vimala Devi, who was proud of the creativity shown by the students.
   Devi said the competition was meant to emphasise the merits of the 3R's -- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle -- while having the interests of today's youth in mind.
   "In a group of five, the students were asked to design an outfit made out of used materials. I am impressed with the teamwork the students had shown through their outfit creations, many of which impressed the judges and made it difficult for them to decide," said lecturer and competition judge, Yoong Wai Sin.
   Winners of the competition was a group of A-Levels and Monash University Foundation Year  students who designed a Hawaiian-themed outfit made with aluminium foils, straws, egg trays, newspapers, magazines and cardboard boxes.  
   "We watched the fashion footages from the television show Project Runway to gather ideas for our outfits which we completed within two days," said team member and appointed "designer" Wong Wye Kin, 19.
   Visitors  had a fun-filled morning with families  participating in games and activities which made use of reusable and recycled materials such as tissue boxes, paper cups, paper rolls, plastic bottles and cans.