The Malaysia Youth 4 EcoGreen Initiative hopes to inspire a green lifestyle.
By TAN CHOON SAM
IMAGINE a world without pollution. How wonderful would it be to behold the beauty of lush green all around you? In reality, it is a fast fading picture. To save our one and only beloved planet, we have to recycle, said Khoo Tian Teck, one of the directors from Far East Paper Products Sdn Bhd (FEP) before starting his talk entitled How To Turn Christmas Waste Into Wealth?
Minister of Tourism Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen poses with the participants before the closing ceremony of Eco Green Christmas Forum.
He was one of the speakers at the All I Want Is An EcoGreen Christmas forum organised by The Malaysia Youth 4 EcoGreen Initiative (MY4Eco) held at the National Science Centre in Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday. The forum aimed to motivate and engage youths to take action in promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle, as today’s youths will be tomorrow’s leaders.
As befitting the forum’s theme, Khoo shared the many benefits of recycling such as overcoming global warming, better energy efficiency, reducing landfill and also reducing the level of pollution in our country.
Khoo also demonstrated how a chair made from recycled paper is as strong as a plastic chair. He then challenged the crowd of youths to test the paper chair. While many doubted its strength, one teenager decided to test it out for himself. His face showed clear surprise, as the chair had no trouble supporting his weight.
One of the ways to help the environment, said Khoo, was by using products made of bio-degradable materials. He cited an eco-friendly internationally acclaimed Japanese architect Shigeru Ban who built houses for disaster victims using Khoo’s paper products.
In fact, recycled paper products are safer for those living in earthquake-prone areas.
“Furniture made from conventional materials are usually quite heavy. When they topple onto someone, they can cause serious injury,” said Khoo. “Furniture made from recycled paper is lighter, and less likely to cause serious injury.”
Some participants having fun during the interactive segment of the forum.
Other presenters at the forum included Aura-Lite (M) Sdn Bhd business development director Rachel Koh who shared energy-saving tips such as sending e-cards and using LED lights that require less electricity to power.
Chemist Heng Siaw Leng demonstrated how easy it was to make soap. She mixed water, sodium hydroxide and cooking oil, and made bars of soap before our eyes. Heng’s family has been using homemade soap for years, and it’s healthier as her products do not contain chemicals or fragances.
Robotics expert Lim Nam Aik with one of his creation made out of recycled items.
Lim Nam Aik of Creative Robotix then shared with the audience how he made robots out of everyday items such as bottles, food lids, and dustbin covers. Lim also encouraged the future engineers in the crowd to engage in robotics. There was a presentation on electric vehicles and how it can save energy in the long run. Electric vehicles(EV) can travel up to 600km with one full charge as well as reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
It was not all talks at the forum. There was also a fashion show by the Dive Label, an eco-friendly label that makes clothes using 100% organic cotton.
Hopefully participants were inspired by the enthusiasm and passion that the presenters shared in making this world more environmental friendly.
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