Media
BASF promotes recycling to children through interactive, hands-on experiments
- BASF Kids’ Lab held from September 22-23 in collaboration with Monash University Malaysia
- Children learn about sustainable production and recycling of plastics
Selangor, Malaysia – September 22, 2018 – BASF, in collaboration with Monash University Malaysia, will raise the awareness among children about the sustainable use of plastic at this year’s BASF Kids’ Lab.
From September 22-23, 2018, BASF will hold its Kids’ Lab event at Monash University Malaysia in Selangor. This free, annual educational program is designed to give young children the opportunity to immerse themselves in the roles of scientists through interactive, hands-on experiments. BASF introduced Kids’ Lab to Malaysia in 2006, with over 6,000 children participating so far.
This year, the theme of Kids’ Lab is “Sustainability – Importance of plastic recycling and renewable resources”. Through the “Poly Lab” experiment, participants will learn about various properties of plastics and discuss how to separate different types of plastics for recycling. They will also learn where plastics come from, whether from a traditional petroleum base or from newer renewable resources like corn starch.
The experiment consists of simple procedures that mimic the plastic recycling process at recycling plants. It demonstrates to children how recycling plants sort plastics based on their densities. As the children conduct the experiment, they will learn the importance of sorting plastics before recycling.
With researchers working on projects such as the Sustainable Intelligent Transportation Ecosystem, which will use adaptive technology to meet the city’s transportation needs, sustainability is also a key theme for Monash University Malaysia. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year, over 100 staff and students from the School of Science at Monash Malaysia are volunteering at the event. They will guide and assist children in understanding the chemistry principles behind the various experiments.
“Waste management is a key global issue. BASF supports Malaysia’s efforts to tackle the issues we face today, including waste management. We hope that the experiments will spark children’s interest in waste recycling, so that we can improve Malaysia’s recycling rates and contribute to a circular economy in the long run. Furthermore, we want the children to know how science and innovation can solve such problems,” said EngLeong Goh, Managing Director, BASF (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Head of Malaysia & Singapore Business Area.
About BASF in Malaysia
With a history of more than 25 years in Malaysia, BASF operates manufacturing plants in Bukit Raja, Selangor and Pasir Gudang, Johor. BASF also provides infrastucture and support services to its joint-venture integrated chemical sites, BASF PETRONAS Chemicals Sdn. Bhd., in Gebeng, Pahang. BASF’s shared services center in Kuala Lumpur provides functional support services to BASF companies in 17 markets across the Asia Pacific region. BASF posted sales to customers in Malaysia of approximately €361 million in 2017 and had 1,943 employees as of the end of the year. Further information is available on the Internet at www.basf.com/my.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.
