Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Problems

Kampung Ayer is one of Brunei’s most famous landmarks and is known as the Venice of the East. It is the largest water village in Asia and is home to many Bruneians, who live there and send their children to school there. Unfortunately the waters of Kampung Ayer are quite badly polluted. Many people do not understand the importance of proper garbage disposal and have no qualms about dumping rubbish in the lapping water beneath their homes. Many schools do not teach students the proper means of disposing of rubbish or the problems caused by improper waste disposal. Some schools are not even provided with plastic bags, encouraging students to simply dump their rubbish in the river. There are few schools that take the initiative to start rubbish sorting, reusing and recycling. This project focused on one school in Kampung Ayer that had no recycling programs set up at all.


Figure 1 & 2. Photographs showing rubbish floating in the waters of Kampung Ayer.


Figure 3 & 4. Photographs showing rubbish left washed up on the river banks of Kampung Ayer.

Possible solutions

The awareness of staff and pupils of the concept and importance of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) should be raised. This could be done by visiting the school and asking for permision to explain to the staff and students the concept of the 3Rs. The concept could be explained by briefing the teachers, creating posters to put up around the school or leaflets to hand out throughout the school. The school should be encouraged to acquire different recycling bins, one for paper and one for plastic, and staff and students should be encouraged to use them as often as possible. The school should be encouraged to reuse any scrap paper e.g. by writing/printing on the back of used sheets of paper.

Actions taken

The writer researched garbage management and the concept of the 3Rs, and then briefed the teachers at the school on the writer’s findings. The teachers were briefed on the importance of proper garbage disposal and the advantages of the 3Rs. Posters were designed that raised the awareness of both staff and students, containing information on the importance of recycling and basic guidelines for sorting out rubbish. The writer organised a competition for the students to take part in to raise their awareness of proper garbage disposal, where the task was to be as creative as possible with ways to recycle or reuse items. The writer observed the school’s classrooms and layout and made a decision as to which places would be most suitable for recycling bins to be placed so that they could be easily accessed and used, thereby making it easier for students to use them and encouraging students to use them. The writer spoke with the Head of School to School Head, discussing possible options of carrying out as much recycling as possible at the school. The school community was given advice on how to sort paper out into paper that should be recycled and paper that can be reused.



Figure 5, 6, 7 & 8. Photographs showing posters that were put up around school, recycling bins that were placed throughout the school, and boxes that were set up for the collection of paper to be reused.