Article: Balling mud for good cause

Tuesday August 4, 2009

By CATHERINE CHONG

IT was a messy job but it was all done in the name of saving Mother Earth.

Forty teams had loads of fun making some 10,000 EM (effective micro-organism) mud balls in the EM Mud Ball-Making Contest organised by the Auto-City Group in Penang on July 27.

Each group was given an hour to produce as many of the EM enriched mud balls as possible. Everyone tried to stay clean in the process but it was a tough task with streaks of the mud getting onto clothes and faces.

The team led by Yeoh Yee Hong, which made 446 mud balls, won the top prize. They collected a RM500 food voucher. Second and third placing went to teams headed by Head Ai Khee (415) and Fong Ling Shin (412) respectively.

Group managing director Gary Teoh said the event was held to inculcate public awareness on the importance of environment conservation.

He said the event was also part of the company's eco-tourism preservation project.

"A total 50,000 mud balls are required to clean up one section of the stream, a tributary of Sungai Juru, which is adjoining to our Shop-In d'Park.

"We then have to produce another 15,000 mud balls every month to maintain this particular section," he said.

He said the stream, classified as a Class 4, would be maintained section by section.

The company has even invested in a reactor used to multiply the EM solution.

Teoh said he also hoped that other factories, especially those in the vicinity, would help to play a role in keeping the water there clean.

EM mud balls are known to inhibit the growth of algae and break down any sludge or slit in rivers, drains and ponds to produce beautiful clear and healthy water.

Made up of a combination of earth, EM treats rice-rinsed water and Bokashi, a fermented organic matter made using sawdust and bran.

Teoh said the e-solution could also be used to water plants and clear dish traps at the many restaurants in Auto-City.

The mud balls, which will be left to ferment and dry for several days, will be thrown into the stream, nicknamed 'anak Sungai Juru', on Saturday.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 4 August 2009