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Towards a Zero Waste Community

 

Residents of Loyal Garden Residences, Ipoh can embrace the 3R culture by adopting the KOHIJAU-ICYCLE Reward Point Recycling System, which was launched in the vicinity of the condominium by Perak State executive councillor, Dato’ Rusnah Kassim on Sunday, July 23.

According to Dr Richard Ng, Chairman of KOHIJAU (Koperasi Alam Hijau Perak Berhad), Loyal Garden Residences is the first condominium to implement the recycling system.

“The management committee of the condominium will encourage all their members and residents to separate their wastes and dispose recyclables in the KOHIJAU-ICYCLE bin sponsored by Loyal Garden Residences developer, Datuk Chan Chee Seng.

“Both the management committee and contributing members will each be rewarded with 30 per cent of the sales from the recyclables collected,” said Ng.

To date, some 40 KOHIJAU-ICYCLE bins are in place within the state since September last year. KOHIJAU aims to set up 100 bins throughout Perak by the end of this year. As of 30 June 2017, about 30,000kg of recyclables have been collected.

“Perak currently has a population of 2.8 million people with an average of 900,000 households. Each household generates an average of 5kg of garbage per week. If no action is taken by 2020, the entire state will be inundated with a total of 756,000 tonnes of garbage, equivalent to 1800 one-tonne lorries covering the size of a football field.

“We, at KOHIJAU, are working hard to change the mindsets of people. Cleanliness is our responsibility; the public must not think it’s the government’s responsibility alone,” Ng insisted.

Rusnah, in her speech, said that Ipoh was once the cleanest city in the country. However, along the way, it was no longer recognised as such.

“According to Tourism Malaysia, Terengganu is the cleanest state in the country, while Perak is placed second. We don’t settle for second best, as we want to be the first.

“As the saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness, so let’s work together to make Ipoh the cleanest city in the country,” enthused Rusnah at the launch.

During the launch, KOHIJAU and EBM Global Recycling of Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding to introduce the KOHIJAU-ICYCLE recycling system in the city of Tay Tay, Rizal in the Philippines.

The Philippines is the third foreign country, after Kerala in India and Guang Zhou in China, to implement the recycling programme.

The KOHIJAU-ICYCLE Reward Point Recycling System enables one to recycle for a sustainable environment, and at the same time collect recycling points that can be exchanged for cash, Tesco/AEON vouchers or donated to charity. Since its inception in September 2016, the programme has garnered over 3000 members. KOHIJAU aims to recruit 10,000 members for the programme by the end of this year.

Register today at http://icycle-global.com. For further information, call 012 525 6252.

Leanne Tan

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