Young Indonesians Take Home Environmental Award in Sweden

The three Indonesian students beat 14 other finalists to win the sixth edition of the international environmental competition, Volvo Adventure in Gothenburg, Sweden, on May 30 with their “Useful Waste for Better Future” project and were awarded the first prize of US$10,000.
From Surabaya, Agnes Santoso, 21, Vania Santoso, 15, and Wening Pranayadipta, 15, created an environmentally and user-friendly waste bin that turns organic waste into fertilizer.
“Whilst it was a stain on Indonesia’s reputation being branded the dirtiest nation in the world by the WHO, it was also a wake-up call that something had to be done and in our small way, we may have helped both change perceptions and improve our local environment and economy,” Vania said on receiving the award.
Theodore Oben of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said the “Useful Waste for a Better Future” project “works on many environmental levels, waste reduction, recycling and revenue earning and as such, it was the outstanding project amongst 15 excellent finalists”.
There were a total of 365 projects from 47 countries this year. The event started in 2002 and the UNEP has sponsored it since 2004.

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