Sragen (25/07/2024) – On July 25, 2024, KKN Team II students from Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) for the 2023/2024 academic year successfully organized the event “Tumbler Heroes: Be an Environmental Hero from an Early Age” for all students at SDN Kacangan 1, Sumberlawang District, Sragen Regency.
According to the 2023 SIPSN data, plastic waste ranks as the second most common type of waste after food leftovers, accounting for 19.3%. Alarmingly, plastic cannot fully decompose and takes up to 100 years to break down completely. Examples of plastic waste include single-use plastic bottles, which is why tumbler-use campaigns are becoming increasingly popular. Elementary school students are a critical target group to cultivate habits of reducing plastic usage early on.
Pak Ladiyo, the Head of Kacangan Village, stated (12/7) that waste management, especially plastic waste, is often limited to burning, without further utilization. He also pointed out the prevalent use of plastic cups for jumbo-sized iced tea sold in the area. It is disheartening if the usage of plastic cups and bottles is not reduced. Therefore, KKN Team II students from UNDIP encouraged all SDN Kacangan 1 students to start using tumblers.
This initiative received strong support from the school principal and teachers, who have expressed concerns over the increasing plastic waste. One of the teachers, Pak Ardy (12/7), appreciated the campaign, saying, “We fully support the initiative to encourage students to use reusable water bottles. We’ve been struggling to figure out how to make this school waste-free since it’s hard to get the kids to listen.” Additionally, the school raised concerns about students frequently buying drinks from outside vendors.
The students were highly enthusiastic about participating in the activity. The event began with a video screening titled “The Dangers of Plastic Waste and Its Impact on the Ocean,” which captured the students’ attention. Heni Widyasari, the initiator of the activity, then educated and encouraged the students to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle, particularly by using tumblers. At the end of the session, KKN Team II students distributed tumblers to active participants who answered quizzes correctly and presented a tumbler campaign standing banner to the school.
SDN Kacangan 1 hopes that the tumbler campaign will serve as a good starting point to realize a waste-free school. They aim to encourage students to change their habits regarding plastic use, particularly by replacing single-use plastic bottles with reusable water bottles or tumblers in their daily lives.
