What is Pahlawan Bebas Plastik (PBP)?
Pahlawan Bebas Plastik 2021 (PBP) is a Selangor-state campaign with the aim to equip eleven (11) small F&B vendors and home cooks in championing the cause to bring about better transitions within their communities, from using single-use plastic packaging towards eco-friendly biodegradable alternatives. Given the MCO in Malaysia and rise in plastic packaging usage, there has never been a greater need nor time for such a campaign to take off and with the program, the Pahlawans (vendors) have been provided with the supply of biodegradable packaging suited for their menu offering up to 30-days.
To further spice things up, all eleven vendors will compete via social media, with the most number of posts, most engagement, creative content, and use of biodegradable packaging.
The winner amongst the Pahlawans will then be provided up to 6 months worth of packaging supplies. The idea behind the competition is to get more communities involved with learning to understand the need for change, and getting accustomed to using a different type of packaging altogether.
How did we get involved with PBP?
In September 2020, Karen Loh (project lead of PBP and same organising head for Malaysian Women Marathon) had reached out to us with the proposal to be a key part of this campaign by being the primary supplier of biodegradable packaging for the participating F&B vendors. After one phone call, talking about why the campaign and why we do what we do, we knew that we could work well together to bring about change for the better. It wasn’t just about supplying packaging, it was about bringing sustainable lasting change that would help benefit all.
Fast track 6 months down the line, with many plans in place and delays resulting from another round of MCO and concerns for the safety of our vendors and project members, we finally saw the window to launch the campaign together with YAB Dato’ Seri Haji Amirudin bin Shari, Menteri Besar Selangor, along with YB Tuan Hee Loy Sian and YB Tuan Ng Zhe Han on the 10th March 2021 at Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Shah Alam (SSAAS).
After 4 long years, trying our best to help the market transition, it was during the launching of this event that little tears of joy formed and if anything resulted in further igniting our drive to keep on “building for boundless actions nurtured around nature and society”. We want to be the change we see in the world and we’re doing it for generations to come.
Powerteam Support with Cheryl Lim (Le Petit Noms) and Kenneth Sim (Ken’s Catering)
Working closely with both Cheryl and Kenneth as part of a team catering to end-users and retailers within the F&B industry, once we got confirmation on the start of this program, I reached out to the both of them and offered for them to apply to be a Pahlawan in the campaign.
As both of them already had a strong understanding of transitioning to better alternatives and have been using biodegradable packaging from us, they would make great participants in such a campaign. Since then, the both of them have been featured in Sin Chew and Selangor Kini’s news articles respectively.
CM ECO’s objective is to encouraging the replacement of single-use plastics within our daily lives via education and awareness as well as long term solutions. We do that by supplying and distributing single-use alternatives, which includes and not limited to biodegradable and compostable food packaging, tableware and carrier bags. As an entity, we strive to create communities that are built on three key founding pillars, with an emphasis on equal importance with regards to sustainable societal, economical, and environmental growth. For more info, visit https://www.cmecoventures.com/