reduce reuse recycle by alam flora campaign

7/27/2019 Reduce Reuse Recycle by Alam Flora Campaign

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Reduce, Reuse And Recycle- Alam Flora's Initiatives TowirdsSustainable Solid Waste ManagementBy Dato' Ir. Zahri Abdul Ghani & Sarifah btWb,Alam Flora Sdn BhdProf Ir. Dr Suhaimi Abdul Talib,Faculty of Civil Engineering, UiTM, Shah Alam

S o l i d waste c an be tu rnedi n to a resource. Therefore,th e sustainable Sol id WasteM a n a g e m e n t ( S W M ) In tegra tedsystem shall l im i t the loss o f thisresource as m u c h as poss i b l ei n a n env i ronmen ta l l y e f f i c i en tand e c o n o m i c way. H ie rarchyo f So l i d Waste Management asshown in F;gure 1 is internationallyaccepted (Yaacob 2008 ) . I t i sbeing adopted in many countriesthroughout th e wor ld especially indeveloped countries t o promotewaste minimization by maximizingwaste d i ve rs i on f rom landf i l l s .Th e ul t imate goal shall be zeroland f i l l i ng . The S W M hierarchyplaces 'Waste Reduction' at theClighest p r io r i ty , f o l l o w e d w i t hReuse', 'Recycle' , f o l l o w e d by

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Act 2007 w here separat ion atsource i s made mandatory fo rthe waste generators. This paperout l ines the ec onomic po ten t i a lo f rec y c l i ng mater ia l f r o m them u n i c i p a l s o l i d was te s t reamand highl ights efforts made b yA l a m Flora i n p r o m o t i n g andi m p l e m e n t i n g ac t i v i t i es t o theimprov e the imp lementa t i on of3R concept i n Malays ia

Area Organicwaste Recyclable Items Others(%by weight) 1 (%byweight) >by weight)

5ource:Alam Flora Sdn Bhd, (20090) .Note:in [i) Organic - vegetables, fruits, food waste from the kitchen, dried leavesDomestic [ii) Recyclable item (based on market demand) - plastic containers, glass bottles, beveragescartons, mineral water bottles, aluminium cans, paper (include newspaper, magazines,Recycl ing potent ial i n domestic envelopes, junk mails, cardboard)

waste be (iii) Others - nclude polystyrene, plastic bags, disposable diapers, ol d clothes, rubber, leather,t h rough th e waste c ompos i t i on batteries, etc.at th e p o i n t o f waste generat ion.A s o l i d w a s t e c o m p o s i t i o ns t u d y was c o n d u c t e d b y th e is d o n e f r o m b o t h c o n t a i n e r s is b y separat ing organic wasteR & D department o f A lam Flora p laced outs ide the i r house, i.e., w h i c h can be compos ted.Sdn Bhd. on landed res ident ia l M G B and plast ic bags. This paper w i l l focus o n th e(bungalow, semi -detached a n d Table 1 s h o w s t h e w a s t e recovery of recyclable items whichterrace houses) i n Kota Kemuning, c o m p o s i t i o n f r o m d o m e s t i c have market demand in MalaysiaSelayang and Putrajaya i n year premises i n th e various locat ions such paper ( inc luding newspaper,2009. I t w as o b s e r v e d t h a t w here the study wa s conducted. cardboards, magazine etc), metal,Kota K e m u n i n g res iden t s h a d L o w perc en tage o f rec y c lab le glass and plastic bottles.been par t i c ipat ing i n recyc l ing i t e m s i n K o t a K e m u n i n g i sprogrammes organised by N G O attributed to th e presence of other Alam Flora's Initiativesa n d r e s i d e n t as s oc ia t i ons . I n recyc l ing programmes w h ic h was On 3Rss ome areas t h e m a t e r i a l was n o t accounted fo r by th e studyc o l l ec ted b y pr ivate recyclers. conduc ted by A lam Flora Sdn. In promot ing 3Rs, Aiam FloraWhi ls t i n Selayang, and Putrajaya Bhd. The h igh percentage i n had developed and implementedth e r e c y c l i n g p r o g r a m m e s are Put ra j ay a i s a t t r i b u t e d t o th e several "separat ion a t source"ma in l y conducted by Alam Flora pract ice o f separat ing at source modules fo r various target groupsSdn Bhd, w h e r e res idents a re by the residents p r i o r to be ing as follows:p rov ided w i t h 120- l i te r M o b i l e c o l l e c t e d b y A l a m F l o r a SdnGarbage B in (MGB) fo r organic Bhd.. O n average, organic waste a) Sc hoo l p r o g r a m m e s c a l l e dw a s t e a n d 2 - c o l o r e d p l a s t i c i s t h e m a j o r c o m p o n e n t o f Kits (Kltar Semula di sekolah). Asbags fo r recyc lable items (B lue household waste w h i c h i s 62%, o f to date, a total of 200 schoolsfo r p a p e r and w h i t e fo r other f o l l ow ed by recyc lables at 23% are act ively part ic ipat ing i n th erecyc lab le items). and other wastes at 15%. O t h e r programme.T h e w as te c o m p o s i t i o n a t w a s t e s i n c l u d e p o l y s t y r e n e , b) C o m m u n i t y p r o g r a m m e sKota Kemuning and Selayang was disposable diapers, o l d clothes, i n v o l v i n g k erbs ide c o l l e c t i o n ,determined f rom th e discarded leather and rubber. I t i s c lear m o b i l e a n d f i x e d r e c y c l i n gwaste inside th e bins. Recyclable that a s igni f icant amount (23%) centersitems w h i c h were separated at o f recyc lable mater ials c o u l d be c) Institutional, Commercial andhome and n o t t h r o w n ins ide th e recovered from th e waste stream Industrial (ICI) programmes calledbins are n o t accounted fo r In this i f separat ion a t source i s f u l l y Waste Wisestudy. However , fo r Putrajaya, implemented. Another potent ia l d) Tailgate recycling programmet h e w as te c o m p o s i t i o n s tudy o f waste r e d u c t i o n t o l a n d f i l l by col lect ion workers

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KitS w h i c h i s designed fo rschool ch i ldren highl ights th ei m p o r t a n c e o f r e c y c l i n g a ndprovides assistance in recyclingact iv i t ies. This p rogramme i simplemented in all Alam Flora'so p e r a t i n g areas and i n b o t hprimary and secondary schools.lncentlves based o n volume ofrecyc lab le mater ials co l lec tedare provided in the form of cashan d gifts. Talks on environmentalawareness and recycling were alsogiven. Environmental exhibitions,colouring and drawing competitionsare held at schools to ensure thatthey have regular recycling an denvironmental events.

Community programmes includefixed community recycling centres(CRC), mobi le recyc l ing booth(MRE) an d kerb side collection(for selected areas only) to catwto th e needs of the publ ic andensure a wider coverage of AlamFlora's 3Rs programmes. Theprogrammes descr ibed aboveare l inked to th e "separat iona t source' concept where thepublic is encouraged to separaterecyclables pr io r to discardingthem as solid waste. Most ofth e activit ies are concentratedin Klang Valley including KualaLumpur, Petaling Jaya, Putrajaya,Subang Jaya, Shah Alam danKlang.(1) Fixed Community RecyclingCentre (CRC)

CR C i s des igned f o r th ecommunity where residents canexchange recyclable materials forcash or coupons depending on theweight of the recyclables. TheCRC also serves as an information

centre to cater to inquiries fromthe public and fo r the distributiono f awareness mate r ia l s . T herecycling centres are constructedat strategic locat ions such ashypermarkets where the publ iccan d r i v e th rough an d d r o po ff the i r recyc lab le mater ia lsbefore d o i n g t h e i r shopping.Incentives in the form o f cashare given to encourage morerecyclables brought from homeor office. The CRC can either bea permanent or semi-permanentstructure equipped with receptionset-up, weighing scale and storagecontainers for different types ofrecyclable materials. Among themain activities carried ou t at thesecentres are:1. Bringing of recyclables to theCRC by the public;2. Exchanging of recyclables fo rincentives:3. Col lec t ion and del ivery o frecyclables to the recyclers.

Currently, Alam Flora has 2 8CRC in it's operat~onal areas..Drop off centres dre also placedrn strategic location where thepublic can send their recyclablesanytime bu t no cash incentivei s given. A total of 5 drop offCentres i s available currently.(2) M o b i l e R e c y c l i n g B o o t hIMRB)

The mobi le recycl ing booth(MRB) i s placed in a strategiclocation where there i s no fixedCRC. They are usually located insuburban or rural residential areasand operated similarly like CRCto receive recyc[ables and provideincentives to the public.The MRB typ ica l ly consistsof a col lect ion vehic le and atemporary reception set-up suchas large umbrella, table, weighing

scale and would be operated bya team of 2 to 3 personnel. TheMR B i s operated on a scheduledbasis that i s a few hours weeklyor monthly. A total of 60 MRBare o p e r a t i n g i n a l l se rv i ceareas.(3) Kerb side collection (KSC a tselected areas only)

Collection of recyclables fromdoor to door or Kerb Side collectionhas been introduced in selectedresidential areas in Petaling Jaya,Putrajaya and Shah Alam. Acollection truck i s dedicated tocollect the commingled recyclablesweekly based on a pre determinedschedule. The recyclables wi l l besorted further prior to transportingto recycling factories. Selectedresident ial premises are givencontainers such as recycling box,plastic bags or bins for theirconvenience.Based on year 2009 record,the above community programmesmanaged to col lect an averageo f 325 tonnes of recyc lab lemater~als.Industrial, Comnerchland lnstltvtionrl (ICI)Programmes WasteWise"

The WasteWise programme i sdeveloped for recycling activitiesand facilities in the industrial,c o m m e r c i a l a n d ins t i tu t i ona l(IC1) sectors. Part ic ipants areencouraged to implement recyclingprogrammes within their premises.Alam Flora w i l l assist in termsof training and logistics support.Major agencies participating inth e program include CarrefourHypermarkets, Jusco shoppingcomplexes, Shangri-La Hote l ,Malaysian Airport Berhad (MAE),Malaysian Airlines (MAS), Air Asia,Universit i Kebangsaan Malaysia


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(UKM) and all government offices inPutrajaya. Wastewise programmescontributes an average o f 13 1tonnes of recyclables per month.Alam Flora together with NationalSolid Waste Department underMinistry of Housing and LocalGovernment has jointly producedan educational CD for ICI premisesin order to promote 3Rs, withthe theme "Think Before YouThrow". The CDs were distributedto various industrial, commercialan d institutional organisationsbeginning year 2009.

Tailgate recyclingpro ramme for collectionwo4 rr (TCW)Discarded recyclable materials

into waste bins by the generalpublic are still very vlslble andhave a h ~ g h ercentage. In orderto recover these recyclables, AlamFlora has encouraged collectionworkers to sort the waste duringcollection activ~tieswith systematicways and safe conditions. Theyhave to ensure collection routei s completed and the bln area is

not messed up. Alam Flora willdetermine the location of buyback centers, a place for themto stop and sell the recyclablematerials. Cash incentives aregiven to motivate them to recovermore recyclables. Side and topcon ta ine r on the compacto rtruck has been designed to caterfor storage of recyclables duringtransportation to the buybackcenter. The most active areaswhich generate more than 100tonnes per month are PetalingJaya, Selayang and Kuala Lumpur.

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Table 3: Total Recyclables collected by Alam Flora in year 2007 & 2008 (January to December) and 2009(Janyarv tn Amng~stnnlvl hv tvne nf nrnnrammec

L Year I Community Wade&@ Kits Landfill Total I Avglmth(tonnes) (tonner) (tonne$) (t-----I I . _ _ - _ _ ,(Jan-Dec)(Jan-Augl.

Source:Alam Flora Sdn Bhd, (2008;20096;2009

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The record shows an increasingt r e n d w h e n c o m p a r e d t o th eprevious year.Separation of recyclablesat landfill

I n certain landf i l l s managedby Alam Flora, th e act iv i t ies o fsorting the commingled recyclablesw i l l be carried ou t w i t h seriousconsideration o n safety and healthaspects. Workers w i l l get the i rcash incentive fo r performing th eactivit ies based o n total weight o frecyclables.Public Education and3R Awareness Campaign

F or s u s t a i n a b i l i t y o f 3Rsprogrammes, cont inuous p u b l i ce d u c a t i o n a n d awareness a reimpor tan t . To ensure c ons tan tp a r t i c i p a t i o n b y t h e t a r g e tgroup, Alam Flora has act ivelyi m p l e m e n t e d awareness talks,distributed leaflets and brochuresan d conducted exhibitions. Someof th e programmes that Alam Florapart ic ipated i n August 2009 arelisted in Table 2.Achievement

A la m F lo ra 's r ec o rd s how san increasing trend of recoveryof recyc lable mater ials f rom al lact iv i t ies, i.e. f rom an averageof 467 tonneslmonth i n 2007 to750 tonneslmonth i n 2009, wh ichis about a 61% increase. Table3 s how s t he t o t a l rec y c lab lescol lected by Alam Flora in year2007 & 2008 ( f rom Jan to Dec)and year 20 09 (from Jan to Augustonly) by type of programmes.Concluding Remarks

The potential o f th e 3R conceptto reduce th e f i na l a m o u n t o f

Itecycimg centrewaste reaching landfills in Malaysiai s high. A good 62% of organicw a s t e c o u l d b e d i v e r t e d f o rc o m p o s t i n g a n d 2 3 % c a n b eeconomically reused or recycled.Various programmes and activitiestargeted at different groups of thesoc ie ty had ind icated that theamount of mater~al eing col lected

under the 3R programmes i s onthe rise. The amount of recyclablescollected had increased by morethan 60% in just over 18 months.In order to make the 3R conceptmore effect ive, these efforts byAlam Flora must be fully supportednot only by the regulators but bythe whole society. rn

Yaacob, S(2008), Profess ion al iz ing Sol id Waste Management :Progressing Towards Higher Industrial Standards, EU-Asia SolidWaste Management Conference, lmpiana Casuarina Hotel, Ipoh,29-30 October 2008.Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd. (2009a). Report on Waste Composition. R&DDepartment, Alam Flora, Sdn Bhd., Shah Alam, Selangor.Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd. (2008). 3 R Annu al R eport 2007 . 3R Department,Alam Flora, Sdn Bhd., Shah Alam, Selangor.

Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd. (2009b ). 3R Annua l R eport 2008 . 3RDepa rtment, A lam Flora, Sdn Bhd., Shah Alam , Selangor.A lam F lora Sdn. Bhd. ( 2 0 0 9 ~ ) . R Mo nth ly Report 2009. 3RDepartment, Alam Flora, Sdn Bhd., Shah Alam, Selangor.

reduce reuse recycle by alam flora campaign

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