The Construction of Environment Preservation on Teachers and Students in Jabodetabek Area

One environmental problem that often causes disaster is trash. Data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry shows that every year 9.86 billion plastic bags are produced by modern stores. This number does not include plastic bags from traditional markets (Alvionitasari 2016). One important thing in looking at the problem of trash is to know how communities understand and address the issue of trash related to how they conctruct the issue on their mind. The people's understanding, in particular the youth, is considered important to reduce the growth of quantity of trash. The youth, with a habit of spending time outside of the house often and using plastic packaging, is assumed to produce a significant number of trash. On the other hand, the youth as a productive group is expected to have better understanding about trash in order to spread awareness of the environment in their various activities. In this context, educational institution is important in the process of contructing the awareness of the youth about the environment. This study used survey and group discussion on teachers and students of several schools that were purposely selected with data collection. The result of the research shows that the teachers and students have sufficient knowledge about the type of trash and its management. They are also familiar with the term 'bersih pangkal sehat' (cleanliness keeps us healthy) because it is often promoted at homes and schools. However, the construction process of 'bersih pangkal sehat' can work at school because a system of penalty is enforced, but it does not work at home because of lack of discipline. Besides that, the role of female teachers is more dominant in constructing the knowledge and enforcing discipline about trash because cleanliness of the house is still considered as more of women's responsibility. Lastly, the attitude and behaviour of the youth who still use plastic things occur because they think and feel it more convenient rather than to carry their own carrier (such as bottles, food container, fabric bags) from home.