The Thousand Islands Regency Government is promoting waste sorting and improving library services through visits to schools and libraries on Tidung Island and Pramuka Island.

Vice Regent Aceng Zaeni said the visits included SMKN 61 Jakarta on Tidung Island and SMAN 69 Jakarta on Pramuka Island.

During the visits, he stressed the need to make waste sorting a regular habit among students, including separating organic, inorganic, and residual waste.

"We want to instill environmental awareness in children from an early age through simple habits, such as sorting waste and keeping their schools clean," he said on Thursday (10/15).

According to Aceng, fostering environmental awareness is key to developing quality human resources in the Thousand Islands. He hopes students will apply what they learn about keeping their surroundings clean and sorting waste not only at school but also in their daily lives.

He also highlighted the need to improve library services by providing books that meet readers' needs and inclusive reading areas where everyone can enjoy reading.

"Collaboration with relevant regional agencies needs to be strengthened to ensure that reading spaces have adequate facilities and infrastructure," he added.

Meanwhile, Agung Putranto, head of the Library and Archives Section at the Thousand Islands' UKT 1, reported that libraries welcome an average of 70 visitors each day.

His team is working to provide reading materials suited to visitors' needs and ages to encourage greater interest in reading.

He added that the steady flow of visitors provides an opportunity to further improve library services.

Agung said his team plans to add more educational picture books for kindergarten and elementary school children, as well as books that broaden the knowledge of junior and senior high school students.

"We hope a diverse book collection and comfortable reading spaces will encourage visitors to spend more time reading, enabling libraries to play a greater role in broadening the knowledge of Thousand Islands residents," he said.