KUCHING: An undergraduate from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus may find herself in Germany if her campaign against the use of plastic bags proves to be a winner.
Angelica Fiona Tan was selected as one of Bayer’s Young Environmental Envoy, a programme the German company organises in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme to develop young leaders and create environmental awareness.
Bayer is a global enterprise in health care, agriculture and high-tech materials.
The programme requires the 12 selected envoys in Malaysia to implement environmental projects. Judging will be carried out in September and the two top-performing envoys will be flown to Germany in November to learn about trends and perspectives in environmental protection and sustainability.
Tan, the only envoy from East Malaysia, will kick off her campaign she calls ‘Bagtastrophe’, said a media release here yesterday.
Aimed at reducing the use of plastic bags, the campaign will be organised with the support of the Swinburne Sarawak Biotechnology Club and the Swinburne Sarawak Green Club.
“I hope to highlight the catastrophe of the use of plastic bags which are accumulating rapidly in our environment and drive home the message that it is ecologically unfriendly,” said Tan, second-year biotechnology student and treasurer of the Biotechnology Club.
“Through the campaign I hope to create positive changes like the use of more eco-bags or tiffin carriers for food takeaways,” she added.
The first event will be a video and poster design competition open to universities in Kuching from July 8 to 27.
This will be followed by a talk on plastics scheduled for July 10, Santubong beach clean-up where members of the public may take part (July 13) and an outreach activity for schools (July 20).
The campaign will culminate with a ‘Plastic-Free Day’ event at CityONE Megamall on Aug 3, which will include prize-giving for the video and poster design competitions.
‘Bagtastrophe’ is sponsored and supported by John’s Pie, Syarikat U Tech and CityONE MegaMall.
More information can be obtained at bagtastrophe.webs.com or www.facebook.com/Bagtastrophe.