UPH Industrial Engineering Urges Students to be Environmentally Friendly through Green Industry
Industrial advancements don’t always bring about positive impacts. Environmental pollution and the damage in natural resources as a result of industrial resources needs to be addressed wisely, both through the people’s lifestyles and through scientific innovations. This is where the educational institution should take part.
One of the main concepts continually developed is the Green Industry concept. To familiarize the students with the processing of industrial waste, Universitas Pelita Harapan Industrial Engineering Student Council holds a seminar with the theme ‘Green Industry’, featuring practitioners from the industrial sector who are highly familiar with the concept of environmental awareness.
The two keynote speakers are Obaja U. Santoso, General Manager (Electronic Waste Management Division) of PT Teknotama Lingkungan Internusa, and Tjatur Prasetijono, QEHS Management Representative. The participants discussed the concept of Green Industry, as well as the management of e-waste and plastic waste.
Tjatur explained that issues around waste management can be significantly reduced if we implement the Green Industry concept.
“Green Industry is an environmentally-friendly industry. It helps avoid polluting the environment and eradicate industries using B3 (Dangerous and Poisonous Substances) waste,” Tjatur explained.
Obaja mentioned that the types of waste that exist in one given place will affect the condition of that particular environment. He emphasized the management of electronic waste (e-waste), which requires more delicate care.
“Reducing e-waste is tricky, because we will have to get rid of our electronic waste, sooner or later. So, the trick is not to reduce the amount of e-waste, but to manage it in a smart way. If we manage e-waste correctly, our environment will not suffer from it. Currently, there are still many people giving away e-waste to collectors that don’t know how to manage them correctly. We advise you to give away your e-waste to places that are guaranteed to know how to manage them well,” Obaja emphasized.
Obaja works at PT Teknotama Lingkungan Internusa, a service company focusing on B3 waste management. He specified how his company reuses e-waste – metals can be made into metal bars or copper anodes. It can also be turned into alternative fuel, as well as copper utensils – teapots, pans, etc.
In addition to e-waste, participants were also reminded of the dangers of plastic waste, which has posed a problem to the environment for quite a long time now.
Dr. Asmuwahyu Saptorahardjo, Technical Advisor of PT Intera Lestari Polimer, a company focusing on the management of Masterbach & Polymer Compounds, as well as the innovator of the Enviplast organic bag, explained that plastic is made of a non-degradable substance, which poses a problem for landfills. Therefore, Enviplast started making environment-friendly packages made of cassava, corn, and other organic ingredients.
Dr. Asmu hopes that students can become more aware of environmental problems, and that they can start to adopt new lifestyles. One of the simplest changes is switching from regular plastic bags to environment-friendly products.
The seminar was held on April 26, 2019, at UPH’s Lippo Village Campus, in Karawaci, Tangerang. The event is part of the INSTINCT (Inter-University Competition) event series, with the theme Green Industry, aimed to raise awareness for environmental issues. The seminar was attended by 16 teams consisting of 3 people each, coming from different universities across Indonesia, some of them being Industrial Engineering students from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Brawijaya, Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Universitas Surabaya, and Universitas Islam Indonesia.
After the seminar, the participants continue the excitement with competitions and other events. It is the hope of the coordinators that this event can not only broaden the knowledge of Industrial Engineering students, but can also increase networking among students, both in academic and non-academic affairs. (pl)