From Trash to Treasure- Primary school students get on an innovative ride

Shah Alam, 29 October 2021 – With emphasis to promote recycling and waste reduction amongst primary school students, Fonterra Brands Malaysia (FBM) together with the Ministry of Education (MOE) initiated the ‘From Trash to Treasure’ inter-school competition to empower students to think creatively and critically in transforming daily wastes to a valuable end-product.

The finals took place on 23 October 2021 virtually with three judging criteria - creativity and innovation – 50%, virtual prototype and project – 30% and presentation as well as teamwork – 20%. Out of the 10 schools who made it to finals, SJK (C) Poh Lan from Malacca clinched first place with their simple but impressive project called 'Kotak Saya Yang Comel' (My Cute Box). Inspired by articles on the increasing nation’s waste collection of more than 100% last year, the team decided to re-use plastic bottles in an innovative way.

The project is a multi-purpose container-like product made with used plastic bottles could be used to store snacks for picnics or as a book or shoe rack. The winning team took their project to the next level with their comprehensive prototype infused with entrepreneurial elements which impressed judges. They walked away with RM 2000, a trophy and certificate.

Following their win, Lailatul Aissar from SJK (C) Poh Lan who also took home the Best Presenter Award shared “We feel so thankful. Thank you to Fonterra Brands Malaysia for giving us the opportunity to be part of this meaningful competition. We gained a lot of experience throughout this journey. We thank the juries for providing valuable inputs and we are happy to have made our school proud. Thank you to our teachers, friends and parents for helping us”.

The first runner-up was from SK Bukit Damansara who presented their winning Grab & Go Safety Bag. Created using used plastic bottles and belt, the bag could store all safety necessities like hand sanitiser and wet wipes. While SK Lembah Jaya Ampang came in as second runner-up with their Smart Stop: 123 Safe! safari-themed traffic light-like concept made with used paint buckets, metal, and cardboards to check body temperature, hand sanitiser with sensor and masks.

“As a responsible organisation, we take sustainability seriously. The earth's climate is changing, and people expect their food to be produced in a way that cares for the environment. In making our packaging more environmentally friendly, we are on the journey to make all our packaging recyclable by 2030”, Shekhar Rapaka, General Manager of FBM shared.

He also added “We certainly believe in starting early and therefore, competitions like this are a great way to start. Reaching out to our younger generation is important because every small effort made early; can create a big change later”.

The competition which commenced in June saw overwhelming response from schools in Peninsular Malaysia with participation from 219 teams – double the rate compared to last year. The finals was broadcasted live on Fonterra- Trash2Treasure’s official Facebook page. Led by Head Judge - Dr. Sr. Zafirah Al Sadat Zyed, a lecturer from the Built Environment faculty of Universiti Malaya, she was also joined by a representative from FBM, MOE and Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia.

With schools reopening only in November, the entire competition process was done virtually which tested the teamwork and cooperation amongst students. The competition also created a platform for them to hone their presentation and leadership skills as well as the ability to think of the box which are essential.  

Fonterra remains committed in caring for the environment as it continues to build a genuine connection with people through commitments on and off farm and demonstrate Good Together in everything that it does.