Making gems out of rubbish
By Yvonne Tan Kiat Ping |
April 25, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
I started this club last year with the main aim of creating environmental awareness amongst students and teachers. This year we even started raising funds by selling our recycled products.
I was often being called a "karung guni" at school, as I keep a lot of unwanted stuff. All these so called "rubbish" became "gems" at my club. We created vases and coin purses from mineral water bottles that we collected. These vases can now be seen on a number of the teachers' desks. It helped to create a "green" atmosphere in the staff room.
The next product that we are working on is the recycled CD clocks. We use donated DVDs and cardboard boxes to make beautiful clocks. Once we have enough items, we will hold a sale to raise funds for the Africa Malaria Nets Project. Our previous sale of vases and coin purses raised more than 500 yuan (US$79) which will provide about 10 malaria nets for the people in Africa.
The biggest project that I have embarked on is the "Paper Cup Christmas Tree." My class collected and washed used paper cups from the school cafeteria for this project. Our objective is simple - Bring Your Own Cup.
It is through these simple activities that we try to raise environmental awareness. We hope to encourage others to take 30 more seconds to consider before deciding to throw something away.
("karung guni" is a Malay phrase for gunny sack, which was used in the past to hold the newspapers. Its practitioners are a modern form of rag-and-bone men. They go around homes door-to-door with carts, collecting old newspapers and other unwanted items.)
I was often being called a "karung guni" at school, as I keep a lot of unwanted stuff. All these so called "rubbish" became "gems" at my club. We created vases and coin purses from mineral water bottles that we collected. These vases can now be seen on a number of the teachers' desks. It helped to create a "green" atmosphere in the staff room.
The next product that we are working on is the recycled CD clocks. We use donated DVDs and cardboard boxes to make beautiful clocks. Once we have enough items, we will hold a sale to raise funds for the Africa Malaria Nets Project. Our previous sale of vases and coin purses raised more than 500 yuan (US$79) which will provide about 10 malaria nets for the people in Africa.
The biggest project that I have embarked on is the "Paper Cup Christmas Tree." My class collected and washed used paper cups from the school cafeteria for this project. Our objective is simple - Bring Your Own Cup.
It is through these simple activities that we try to raise environmental awareness. We hope to encourage others to take 30 more seconds to consider before deciding to throw something away.
("karung guni" is a Malay phrase for gunny sack, which was used in the past to hold the newspapers. Its practitioners are a modern form of rag-and-bone men. They go around homes door-to-door with carts, collecting old newspapers and other unwanted items.)
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