Brainstorm..before The Storm hits!
Environmental seminars, I must say, are getting hot these days, just like our Earth. On the 6th of November 2009, I attended a seminar called “ Waste Management- More than just rubbish” in Commonwealth Secondary School. Prior to this event, I have gone on a learning journey to Pulau Semakau, the first offshore landfill in the world, and also the last landfill of Singapore. In a way, it is the last vestige of hope for us to cling onto before wastes run out of places to be managed come year 2045. So what do we do? Is it possible to draft out a ten- year plan to accept integrate these sustainable waste management measures to combat further degradation of our environment?
These are the types of questions that challenge the minds of these young participants throughout the entire 4 hour of this talk. The guest speaker introduced the topic of waste management as sexy- which was amusing, but quite adequate as the opportunities of turning rubbish into resources are exciting and abound in this new age. The rest of the talk were hinged on his personal experiences of being a contractor who had to tear down buildings and use the concrete built within this structure as reusable resources instead of wastes. Believe it or not, he could turn this so-called rubbish into whooping tens of thousands in revenue! Not only that, it also gave a bonus to the environment. Wouldn’t you call that killing two birds with one stone?
As a teen facilitator, I guided my group to present their solutions to these questions after the talk. Theories and ideas flew out, and scratches of marker pens could be heard throughout the entire hall. Being idealistic youths, we really hope to see residential blocks with proper waste disposal system in place, where everyone will be encouraged to separate their domestic waste conveniently.
Admittedly, people have been pounded with green campaigns lately, but we feel that people can be swayed even more through the influence of their celebrities, or can I say,entertainment idols. Not everyone seek inspiration through political leaders, so tapping into the potential of various artistes and their hordes of fans could possibly garner more attention, funding and effect.
Moving on from there, the envisioned 10-Year-Plan also includes sweeping changes in industries such as more digital modes of advertisement, for instance: less fliers, and paper- saving practices in the ever-increasing offices in this cosmopolitan city.
As the awareness towards daily environmentally-friendly practice increases, we also realize that we were using papers that were bound to be used for only once in this environmental talk before they would be disposed of, whether recycled or otherwise. Wasn’t that a little ironic?
But after pondering for a moment, I realized that this was indeed the crux of the seminar: to value these daily discarded items as a resource. In fact, the key to being friendly towards our environment is not just by leaving it in a pristine state as of the rainforests basins of the world, but to practise sustainable use of these natural resources. The concept is simple, that is to use minimally and always seek to replenish the resources at a faster rate than they are exploited. Yet once again, the saying “ it is always easier said than done” comes to mind.
However, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and we have done so by having seminars such as this. Within the time span of 2 hours, it is an insurmountable task to draft out the details of this 10-Year- Plan. However, this session gave us meaningful insights of the vision that youths have of the future 10 years down the road. By then, we would be the ones who are developing the nation and implementing these ideas. Indeed, it is never too early to start this brainstorm, before ravaging storms of nature impose an even greater threat to humanity.
Written by: Chong Jia Wen
