The White Coffin Student Enviromental Activism

Before the White Coffin campaign was undertaken, efforts had been made to rid the campus of polystyrene foam containers by way of directives given to canteen operators to stop their use in our canteens. Similar instructions were given for the University Convocation Expo in 2007. The recent 2-day cultural festival Thaipusam in Malaysia generated 2 million discarded polystyrene containers. On the USM campuses it is estimated that 1.5 million pieces of trash are generated from all types of disposable food packaging during the academic year. In line with sustainability principles, the aim is to achieve zero waste and in the case of the canteens, to encourage students to bring their own reusable containers. As a short-term alternative, the university introduced a biodegradable container made from oil-palm waste manufactured in Malaysia. But these efforts failed to achieve the desired outcomes.

Since university directives and recommendations failed to have the desired outcomes, learning was gained from prior experiences, and the University then used a different strategy combining dialogues, campaigns and the introduction of more eco-friendly containers. Students campaigned by setting up booths at the lecture hall complex to get students to sign a 'green pledge'. Dialogues were held with the canteen operators to understand their concerns, to brief them on the issues related to polystyrene containers, to offer the eco-friendly alternative, and to get their support for the effort.

The White Coffin campaign began on 18 December 2007 and lasted until 4 January 2008 with the target of zero polystyrene at campus canteens by 1 January 2008 (as agreed upon with the canteen operators). On 7 January 2008, the Vice-Chancellor called for a Press Conference to announce the success of the campaign. Since then, there has been sustained interest in the mass media to publish and maintain public interest on the issue. Numerous student groups have been inspired to emulate the White Coffin ideals in their activities; either to create greater awareness for the need to be green or to adopt green practices when they organise events.

The idea was originally proposed by a small group of University Sains Malaysia (USM) students in the middle 2007 to get rid of polystyrene foam containers on the USM campuses. The success of this effort has spread to at least three universities with several other universities (including private universities) initiating similar programmes to rid their campuses of the foam containers. Students have also propagated the idea to universities in Hong Kong and Japan, as well as primary and secondary schools. Private companies such as Dell and Motorola have also shown interest in adopting the campaign for their staff and families. The White Coffin has therefore become a flagship for student environmental activism on the USM campuses. It is expected to evolve as USM pursues the sustainable campus agenda to reduce waste and consumption.

Main objectives are:

• To promote changes in our habits in order to lead to sustainable lifestyles
• To promote greater awareness of proper and safe use of food containers
• To encourage active participation of students in promoting greener practices and habits

The people-centred approach must be adopted for successful implementation of programmes to achieve sustainable development. Unilateral actions from the top-down have been shown to be less effective. Sustainability principles and values must be imbued into every person and this can only be achieved if we provide each person with the skill sets to live sustainably.