USU PR - In an effort to mitigate climate change, the Green Campus Team of Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) together with the USU Faculty of Engineering held a public lecture and workshop on processing organic waste into energy at the Engineering Faculty Hall, Friday (10/11/2023).

The event, which was packaged under the title "Processing Organic Waste into Energy in the Framework of Climate Change Mitigation Efforts with the Technology Method by Waste at the Source (Toos) USU Green Campus", was filled with speakers from Andalas University, namely Dr. Ir. Fadja Goembira, ST. M.sc.

The event was opened by the Vice Rector IV for Information, Planning and Development of USU, Prof. Dr. Opim Salim Sitompul, M.Sc. Through his remarks, Vice Rector IV stated that USU has participated in the Green Campus program since 2017 and has taken significant steps to become a green and sustainable campus. He added that in 2022 USU was ranked the 17th best university in Indonesia but had dropped so that it needed Human Resources who could give birth to the latest ideas or innovations in carrying out a good Green Campus concept and could be fully committed to it.

USU also collaborates with partners to share information and knowledge related to the form of organic waste management because waste management requires cross-sector collaboration to be more optimal.

Prof. Dr. Opim Salim Sitompul, M.Sc., hopes that the entire USU community can understand the great potential in organic waste management so that USU can become an example of a Green Campus in Indonesia that is sustainable and takes an important role in environmental conservation.

"The purpose of this program is good, namely that we participate in preserving the environment, we turn organic waste into energy so that waste is not wasted for nothing," said Vice Rector IV USU.

Vice Dean III FT USU, Ir. Nismah Panjaitan S.T., M.T., Ph.D., IPU, said that FT USU already has a tool from Japan that can convert waste into energy or biodiesel. This program also cooperates with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) related to waste. NGOs work on finding tools and useless waste and then it will be processed so that it can be valuable.

Through his remarks, the Vice Dean III of FT USU also hopes that the university can make good use of the equipment and through this meeting can continue to negotiate other agreements such as the MoA. This program is also expected to be of positive value in the future and have an impact on many aspects.

"Waste management in this program is sorted between organic and inorganic waste which is then converted into diesel. This activity will also be carried out by lecturers and students," added Vice Dean III FT USU.

Chairman of Green Campus USU, Dr. eng. Hafizul Khairi AM, ST.MT, said USU has made various efforts in managing organic waste both with margot and compost. Innovations related to how to manage university waste properly also continue to be made, one of which is processing plastic waste into oil. The hope is that USU can overcome its own waste problems so that the waste generated by the university can be managed properly before leaving campus.

For information, this activity is not only for internal FT USU, but invites the North Sumatra Environment Agency (DLH), DLH Medan City, DLH Deli Serdang Regency, DLH Langkat, NGOs and other NGOs. This activity lasted for 2 days. The first day contained a public lecture with a target of 200 students and this workshop was the second day of activities. On this occasion, the USU Green Campus Ambassador was also given a sash which was pinned directly by the Vice Dean III of FT USU.

Author: Bambang Riyanto - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Muhammad Andriansyah - Humas