Not a lot of teenagers care that much about the waste that comes out of their parent's GMC muffler or what happens to the trash after they take it out of the house. But there are some who do care about making this world a better place.

Two years ago the World Health Organization gave Indonesia the title of the dirtiest country in the world - a title that certainly would not be the envy of other countries. Just recently however, two 15-year-old students from Surabaya in Indonesia have helped turn the tables by winning the prestigious Volvo Adventure World Final in Gothenburg.

Useful Waste for a Better Future is a project that not only removes rubbish but also recycles it into sustainable souvenirs and gifts with the additional advantage of adding value and helping overcome poverty.

Edging out of 365 projects across 47 different countries worldwide, two 15-year-old Indonesian schoolgirls, Wening Pranayadipta and Vania Santoso, alias Bright Youngsters took the US$10,000 first prize for their project Useful Waste for a Better Future - beating out New Zealand (second place) who won US$6,000 and South Africa (third place) winning US$4,000.

Theodore Oben of the official Volvo Adventure partner, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said, "The standard goes up and up each and every year and this year, and Useful Waste for a Better Future is a project that works on many environmental levels, waste reduction, recycling and revenue-earning and as such, it was the outstanding project amongst 15 excellent finalists."

New Zealand's Plastic Not So Fantastic project, represented by the Green Teens won the US$6,000 while South Africa's Facing Up team took the US$4,000 third prize for their EnergyWise campaign.

Vania Santoso joyfully received the most prestigious young environmentalists' accolade in the world saying, "Whilst it was a stain on Indonesia's reputation being branded the dirtiest nation in the world by WHO, it was also a wake-up call that something had to be done and in our small way, we may have helped both change perceptions and improve our local environment and economy."

Her colleague Wening Pranayadipta added, "It has been an amazing experience coming to Gothenburg and being encouraged by how many other students are as passionate about the environment as we are and it is a great honour to win, especially against so many other powerful projects."

Olle Axelson, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Volvo Cars presenting the prizes at the Volvo Adventure Awards ceremony, said, "The pride and the passion all these students have for their own local environment and the wider global picture is highly encouraging and in fact they are all winners."

"But the big winner here is the environment itself, and facing so many challenges on so many fronts, the creativity and dedication of these young people convinces me that the environment is being passed into safe and responsible hands," added Mr Axelson.

"The Volvo Adventure is immensely inspiring and within the automotive industry in general and Volvo in particular, we can draw great strength and motivation to redouble our environmental efforts."

Projects are already underway all round the world for the seventh annual Volvo Adventure and the closing date for entries is 31st January 2008.
Kikki Hugestrand, Volvo Adventure Project Manager said, "The Volvo Adventure has become a fixture in the environmental calendar and a key component in expressing Volvo's passion for and commitment to the environment, whilst for the students, it is an educational, environmental and cultural experience that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives."

For more information about Volvo Adventure visit www.volvoadventure.org.