we are not trashy, we RECYCLE.

It was somewhere at the end of the month of Ramadhan. For most, the holiday spirits are up, and for some, the festive moods are just starting to kick in. But for the determined ones, the responsibility to save the world by recycling does not depend on the time of the month. It should be done, it MUST be done, and so, the RECYCLING campaign was done.

The 25th of September 2008 has marked a significant day that hopefully will change the mindsets and attitudes of the population, one student at a time, towards recycling. Day in and day out we see many resources being wasted without a second’s thought of how we can reuse it. For those who are in the know, recycling is something that must be started, sooner or later, which is better than never.

Therefore, the noble TzuChings from the AIMST Tzu Chi’s student chapter has decided to hold a recycling campaign. The aim of the campaign was to update students and members of faculty on the state of the current environment and also educate them about how to recycle the proper way i.e. what items are recyclable, what grade of plastics that are available, the different usages of aluminum cans etc.

The crowd that turned up was not as big as expected, a little less than 50 people were there. But the program continued on under the good support of Dr. Kay. No matter how small the crowd is, the show must go on, she says. But it was not a disappointment as our honorable VC, Prof. Geoffrey Smith, has spared some of his time to drop by to our humble campaign. Although he did not manage to join us for the whole session, yet, he is in full support of our campaign and he says that the university is also delighted to make this campaign as an ongoing program. That is something we treasured most, knowing that our effort has made a progress even in its early stages.

The program started off with an update of the state of the current environment, which was followed by games on recycling, and a question and answer session soon after that. It was great fun to see how the crowd enjoyed themselves and how they are amazed at the things that they did not know about recycling. Some of the seniors of the Tzu Chi Association were there too, to support the campaign.

Towards the end, there was a sharing session where the students, Tzu Chi members, and our advisor Dr. Kay sat down in groups to chat and get to know each other better apart from discussing their experiences on recycling. Everyone was happy when they left the room and we were glad that we could pass the message of the importance of recycling.

It is amazing on how little things like this could make a world of difference. Recycling is not something that we could choose whether to do it or not. It is our responsibility.