The Sunway University College Student Council recently waged a war on Styrofoam by launching their Scrap-the-Styro Campaign on campus. Student Council President, Joyce Wong said “Styrofoam is hazardous not only to the environment, but also to the health of mankind. It is the white weapon of mass destruction (WMD). By going styro-free in its cafeteria and campus, Sunway University College is setting an example for the rest of the IPTS that higher institutions can also play their part in making the world a better place”. Before the launch, the council organised a survey to find out the views from students and staff and as it turned out 96% of the respondents were in favour of having a Styrofoam-free campus.

The Scrap the Styro campaign was launched during the “Let’s Go Green” week organised by the Student Council. The campaign will start officially from October 4th this year and styrofoam food service items at Sunway such as takeaway boxes, plates and cups will become a thing of the past. These will be replaced by items made from biodegradable material or re-usable plastic which food service vendors will provide at a small charge. Students are encouraged to bring their own lunch boxes to take away food but if they are unable, they can buy an eco-friendly takeaway box for a small fee or eat in the cafeteria.

The “Let’s Go Green” week also saw Sunway students planting trees at the Raja Musa Forest Reserve together with the organizer, Global Environment Centre (GEC) and students from other institutions. A total of 1,100 trees were planted during the session. Students also attended talks at Sunway by the Malaysian Nature Society on “An Environmentally-Responsible Lifestyle: It’s Up to You and Me”, WWF Malaysia on “Climate Change & Species: What does climate change mean for the planet’s iconic species?”, Reef Check Malaysia on “The Importance of the Coral Reef” and Douglas Tan on “What is So Bad about Styrofoam?”. A booth that calculated one’s carbon footprint was also set up by students.

Apart from scrapping Styrofoam, Sonia Lee, the General Secretary of the Student Council who organised the green week said that “The other simple things a Sunway student could do for the environment is to switch off the AC. AC’s are the second highest energy consumers most commonly used!. We can live without them, so why don’t we turn them off?”. She hopes too that more students would recycle. Even though these may start here at Sunway, I hope that turning off the AC, recycling and saying “no” to styro will become a life-long implementation for everyone”.