Students with their cash prizes and certificates after the GKC2024 awards ceremony.
WASTE management concessionaire SWM Environment’s “Great KITARecycle Challenge 2024” (GKC2024) gathered more than 107,000kg of recyclable items from participating schools.
The programme, carried out in collaboration with Great Eastern Takaful Bhd (GETB) from July till early November, saw the participation of 60 primary and secondary schools in Negri Sembilan and Melaka.
SWM Environment corporate general manager Mohd Norlisam Mohd Nordin said schools had been roped in for the programme as it provided the best environment to educate students on the benefits of recycling.
He said that with support from the respective state Education departments, the students were also exposed to SWM Environment’s CEPA (communication, education and public awareness) activities which were crucial in creating awareness of the environment and sustainability efforts.
“Activities like these motivate students to continue to be involved in taking care of the environment and help form a generation that is more responsible for the preservation of the environment,” he noted.
Mohd Norlisam said there were several other events carried out during the period, such as competitions for making products using recyclable items, essay writing and producing short videos and stories on preserving the environment.
“Through these competitions, students get a broader exposure to the importance of recycling and how they can play an active role in building a more green, sustainable environment,” he said, adding that schools were also given certificates and cash prizes for their efforts.
SWM Environment Sdn Bhd is a waste management company appointed by the government as one of the concessionaires to provide solid waste management and public cleansing services in Johor, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.
“Through corporate collaborations, we hope to play a role to help increase students’ and teachers’ awareness about the importance of managing waste and recycling,” said GETB chief executive officer Shahrul Azlan Shahriman.
“We will help build recycling centres in schools that produced more than 5,000kg of recyclable items during GKC2024.”
He said GETB had also introduced the upcycling initiative to teachers and students during GKC2024.
“Through this initiative, students can identify recycling activities that can be practised at home and in their schools, and foster a more environmentally friendly way of life,” he added.
