Essay Competition Evergreen 2021 is an essay competition at the national level which is carried out by submitting essays online and later essay presentations and online questions and answers will also be held for participants who have become finalists in the Evergreen 2021 essay competition .
The competition phase consists of 2 stages, namely elimination and final . The selection stage is the initial stage where participants register and must submit an essay with the theme “Spread Environmental Awareness as a Solution for Plastic and Medical Waste Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic”.
The essays made will be considered in the preliminary round . In this competition, the 2020 Physics Engineering Student, Javier Ahmad or who is familiarly called Javier, proposed an essay entitled “Stimulating the Development and Use of Biodegradable Masks “. The background for writing this essay is the increasing production and consumption of face masks worldwide which poses a new challenge, namely increasing the amount of plastic waste and plastic particles in the environment. Studies estimate billions of masks are needed per month. In Asia alone, more than 2.2 billion face masks are used and discarded every day.
According to Javier, the development of biodegradable masks requires serious attention from the community and the government. These masks could be the answer to reducing the impact on the environment during or after the pandemic. Today’s conventional masks must gradually be replaced by biodegradable masks , which are environmentally friendly, zero-hazardous , durable, lightweight, comfortable, and affordable. The development of bio-based masks that have superior performance properties fits perfectly with the new socio-economic development paradigm where they can be used to increase the value of waste and create new face masks needed for pandemic preparedness.
After presenting his essay well, Javier won second place in this competition. Javier advised to always maintain and innovate to protect the environment. “The road to Bandung, Bandung has beautiful scenery, the nature where we take shelter, let’s innovate to protect it!”, Javier advised through rhymes.
