Strengthening Unhas’ Commitment to Sustainable Waste Management

Hasanuddin University is rolling out a practical action plan to reduce plastic waste across faculties, events, and student programmes. This initiative is reinforced by Circular Letter No. 09246/UN4.1/KM.01.03/2024, which prohibits the use of single-use plastic water bottles and plastic bags on campus. The plan combines policy direction with hands-on implementation to ensure that sorting, collection, and reuse take place at the point where waste is generated. It links classroom learning, campus operations, and outreach, and it uses pilot activities as models that other units can copy with little cost. Kemahasiswaan Unhas

A cornerstone of the plan is education by doing. During the 2024 student induction, new students learned to sort event waste at the venue. Organisers prepared stations for plastics, organics, and cardboard, and partnered with the city’s waste bank network to ensure materials went to responsible processors. The induction became a live demonstration that large events can manage waste well and set a standard for future gatherings on campus. Unhas TV report 

Faculty-led initiatives reinforce these routines. At the Faculty of Public Health, students launched a campus sorting programme as part of an environmental quality course. The launch formalised simple steps for reduction and separation at source, supported by faculty backing and student champions who track progress and share lessons with other units. 

The action plan also strengthens collection systems. The campus Waste Bank Working Group conducts regular socialisation sessions so each unit understands how the waste bank operates, what materials it accepts, and how to record transactions. Recent sessions at the Faculty of Forestry and other faculties focused on practical workflows and roles, moving beyond awareness toward day to day implementation. 

Student community service adds a creativity track to the plan. A KKN team ran a workshop that invited school students to live without plastics by practicing simple swaps, reuse, and local upcycling ideas. The session encouraged habit change at home and in school events, and it produced replicable teaching aids that other KKN teams can carry to new sites. 

Operationally, the plan connects event management with the waste bank and local partners. Sorting points are placed where waste is created, volunteers guide participants, and plastic and cardboard flows are sent to the city’s central waste bank while organics go to local farms. This keeps plastic out of mixed bins and reduces the burden on municipal services after campus events. 

The plan advances culture change inside faculties. The Waste Bank Working Group now visits departments on a rolling schedule to help set up sorting points, clarify standard operating procedures, and collect feedback on barriers. Coverage from campus and local media shows growing participation from staff and students as waste sorting becomes a routine part of daily life. 

Learning outputs are fed back into operations. When students design sorting signage, measure event waste, or test reuse ideas, the best materials are adopted by units and used again. In Public Health, the sorting programme is paired with steps to reduce single use plastics at seminars, which demonstrates how coursework and campus management can reinforce each other. 

Action on plastic also extends to habits outside lecture halls. Through KKN and student clubs, Unhas promotes practical behavior change such as bringing tumblers to events, refilling rather than purchasing bottles, and switching to reusable packaging for student activities. By placing youth-led workshops in schools and communities, the university grows a pipeline of new participants who understand sorting and reduction before they arrive on campus.

With ongoing mentoring and regular reporting, the action plan creates a loop that starts with education, moves through event and unit operations, and ends with measurable reductions in plastic sent to mixed bins. The combination of faculty pilots, event models, and waste bank engagement gives Unhas a clear pathway to keep shrinking plastic waste each semester while supporting the broader goals of a green campus.