COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECTS

Project O: Garbage Management in one School in Kampong Ayer

By student: Mohd Hassanul Fikhri Bin Hj Abdullah

Problems:
Kampung Ayer is one of Brunei’s most famous landmarks and is known as the Venice of
the East. It is the largest water village in Asia and is home to many Bruneians, who live
there and send their children to school there. Unfortunately the waters of Kampung Ayer
are quite badly polluted. Many people do not understand the importance of proper
garbage disposal and have no qualms about dumping rubbish in the lapping water
beneath their homes. Many schools do not teach students the proper means of disposing
of rubbish or the problems caused by improper waste disposal. Some schools are not even
provided with plastic bags, encouraging students to simply dump their rubbish in the
river. There are few schools that take the initiative to start rubbish sorting, reusing and
recycling. This project focused on one school in Kampung Ayer that had no recycling
programs set up at all.

Figure 1 & 2. Photographs showing rubbish floating in the waters of Kampung Ayer.
 COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECTS

Figure 3 & 4. Photographs showing rubbish left washed up on the river banks of
Kampung Ayer.

Possible solutions:
The awareness of staff and pupils of the concept and importance of the 3Rs (Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle) should be raised. This could be done by visiting the school and asking
for permision to explain to the staff and students the concept of the 3Rs. The concept
could be explained by briefing the teachers, creating posters to put up around the school
or leaflets to hand out throughout the school. The school should be encouraged to acquire
different recycling bins, one for paper and one for plastic, and staff and students should
be encouraged to use them as often as possible. The school should be encouraged to reuse
any scrap paper e.g. by writing/printing on the back of used sheets of paper.

Actions taken:

The writer researched garbage management and the concept of the 3Rs, and then briefed
the teachers at the school on the writer’s findings. The teachers were briefed on the
importance of proper garbage disposal and the advantages of the 3Rs. Posters were
designed that raised the awareness of both staff and students, containing information on
the importance of recycling and basic guidelines for sorting out rubbish. The writer
organised a competition for the students to take part in to raise their awareness of proper
garbage disposal, where the task was to be as creative as possible with ways to recycle or
reuse items. The writer observed the school’s classrooms and layout and made a decision
 COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECTS

as to which places would be most suitable for recycling bins to be placed so that they
could be easily accessed and used, thereby making it easier for students to use them and
encouraging students to use them. The writer spoke with the Head of School to School
Head, discussing possible options of carrying out as much recycling as possible at the
school. The school community was given advice on how to sort paper out into paper that
should be recycled and paper that can be reused.

Figure 5, 6, 7 & 8. Photographs showing posters that were put up around school,
recycling bins that were placed throughout the school, and boxes that were set up for the
collection of paper to be reused.