Coinciding with World Environment Day, students of the Faculty of Communication Sciences (Fikom) Untar held an ADEM event “Ada Demi Alam, Ada demi Bumi” at Kolabora Hayam Wuruk Plaza, West Jakarta on Wednesday (5/6) as part of the Communication Week (Commweek) series.
According to the MoEF’s National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN), by 2023, there will be 23 million tons of plastic waste in Indonesia, 4.4 million tons of which is plastic waste, with the largest usage coming from households.
Seeing the very high rate of plastic usage in Indonesia, especially for food wrapping needs, Commweek 2024 Fikom Untar B under the guidance of Fikom Untar lecturers Septia Winduwati S.Sos., M.Si., and Budi Utami S.Sos., M.Si., collaborated with DemiBumi to hold a series of events that were able to inspire people to start a responsible consumption lifestyle, and carry out the 12th SDG.
The 12th SDG “responsible consumption and production” aims to build sustainable consumption and production patterns. This goal emphasizes the importance of resource efficiency, proper waste management, and environmentally friendly product development.
The series of ADEM events included a talk show by zero waste lifestyle influencer Novia Arifin or better known as @ceritanupi as well as a talk show and workshop on beeswax food wrap by CEO and co-founder of DemiBumi Jessica Halim.
Start from Yourself
In the talk show session “The Role of Society in the Plastic Waste Recycling Movement”, Novia said the recycling movement has an important role in preventing waste from becoming mixed.
Mixed waste will give rise to methane gas, which has the potential to create an explosion.
To prevent this, people need to start a recycling movement, such as composting each of their waste.
Furthermore, Novia said that people can start the recycling movement from themselves through simple actions, namely maximizing and efficient consumption actions.
“Everything we use has a long-lasting impact. Before we consume, we should consider our choices as wisely as possible,” said Novia Arifin.
Conscientious and Wise Consumption
In the talk show session “Circular Economy”, Jessica conveyed the importance of people knowing the character of the plastic they consume.
Each plastic has its own characteristics, which tend to continue to have negative effects even after being recycled.
According to Jessica, it is more beneficial for people to not only start using alternative materials to plastic that can be recycled and are safe for consumption, such as banana leaves, but to start upcycling.
“Beeswax is an example of an upcycled product, while cotton fabric coated with beeswax and coconut oil can be used for food wraps. Through upcycling, waste can be converted into useful items,” said Jessica.
After the talk show, participants were invited to make beeswax food wraps to take home.
Positive Feedback from Participants
“Today’s workshop was very exciting, making beeswax food wraps turned out to be very exciting and easy to do,” said Erica, one of the ADEM event participants.
“Today’s event was very interesting, I was moved to care more about disposing of waste and interested to start using beeswax food wrap,” said Veronica, one of the ADEM event participants.
Novia as the resource person expressed her admiration for the ADEM event. “The awareness of young people regarding the environment is still minimal, therefore I am happy that the ADEM event was able to raise awareness regarding this matter,” said Novia.
Jessica also expressed her satisfaction with the ADEM event. “The ADEM event was well prepared, the committee’s performance was very good, I myself was amazed that this student event was well prepared,” said Jessica.
The ADEM event was also enlivened by the performance of musician Foke Fritz.
Commweek is a series of annual events held by Fikom Untar students, as an output of the communication implementation course that fourth semester students take. The Adem event received a positive response and enthusiasm from participants, speakers, and external partners who attended and supported the running of the event. (Fikom Untar/KJ)