(From left) Zain Azly, MBPJ Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Department deputy director Nazatul Aini Hairoman, Keng, KPT Recycle Senior Sustainability executive Denys Chang and Izrul Fadly standing next to the lorry that collects recyclables. — Photos: LOW LAY PHON/The Star
FOR the past four years, some 70% of Ara Damansara residents have been participating in the Door-to-Door Collection and Recycling Programme led by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
The neighbourhood is among the pioneers for the project.
Ara Damansara Residents Association chairman Albert Lau said this was the most organised and sustainable recycling project he had found so far.
“A good majority of residents participate because we welcome this initiative,” he said.
“The items collected is limited, however, so we hope more, such as used cooking oil, can be included.
“There are other private recycling groups but they are not as organised as the one by MBPJ.
“We hope that once a month, the city council can send trucks to collect bulk waste such as mattresses too.”
Since its inception in 2020, 6,851 tonnes of recyclables have been collected through MBPJ’s Door-to-Door Collection and Recycling Programme up to end-2023.
Taking an adult Asian elephant’s weight at four tonnes, the amount of waste gathered so far equates to 1,712 elephants.
Recycling has long been preached to the public and many have incorporated it as part of their lifestyle.
The programme started as a pilot project in 2016 and was officially rolled out in 2020, said MBPJ Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Department director Zain Azly Abdul Rahman.
On Sept 8, 2016, StarMetro front-paged the initiative, detailing how residents in SS20, Damansara Utama were leading the way in its implementation.
Zain Azly said MBPJ was the first local council to carry out such a programme.
The Door-to-Door Collection and Recycling Programme has received good response, says MBPJ.
The programme, in partnership with Nestle (M) Bhd and KPT Recycle Sdn Bhd, was expanded in 2020 under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework.
EPR is an approach that sees manufacturers playing a significant role in waste management.
The first phase was introduced in October 2020 and comprised 53 areas in Petaling Jaya.
“The programme consists of seven phases and we are at phase five. Some 87,128 landed residential units are involved now,” said Zain Azly.
The most amount of waste collected was in 2023, comprising 4,240.3 tonnes.
“This is because more areas were involved in the programme,” he said, noting that community participation was important to enable projects such as these to be successful.
Cardboard, followed by paper, are the recyclables most collected through the programme.
Collaboration with industry players is another key component to ensure the waste collected can be recycled.
“We need programmes like this in all local communities,” Zain Azly said.
“The local council can play an important role to encourage collection of recyclable materials.
“This will also help the council save on waste disposal fees at landfills.”
The programme was first rolled out in Ara Damansara and Sri Damansara, and Zain Azly said it received very good support from community leaders who promoted it.
“Their residents associations supported us. If we have similar dedication from all neighbourhoods, we can achieve better results.
“Petaling Jaya residents are concerned about the environment and are generally on board with such activities.
“In fact, the recyclable items we receive in Petaling Jaya are of very high quality.
“Participants understand the need to clean plastic bottles before sending them for recycling.
“However, we need more residents to come on board and support the well-being of the environment.”
To encourage better recycling habits, KPT Recycle and Nestle produced a video about the material recycle facility (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q--dXsAjLkM)
Zain Azly said participants of the recycling campaign were mostly residents aged 40 and above, but they involved family members to collect items for recycling.
He added that yellow bins distributed to regular recyclers was another attraction.
“We did not expect the yellow bin given to active participants to become such a pull factor.
“They really like the bins and we have distributed 54,000 so far.
“Many take pride in recycling and the yellow bin adds to their commitment,” said Zain Azly.
The project emerged as champion in Public Private Partnership for Recycling Kumpulan 3P4R under the Hybrid: Social Innovation category at the Selangor 2022 Public Service Innovation Award.
A worker carrying recyclables placed in the yellow bin at PJU 8@Rafflesia, Petaling Jaya.
Changing with the times
The programme also boasts digital innovation with a new app, “3R Famili”, enabling residents to track the collection lorries in real time.
KPT Recycle project coordinator Izrul Fadly Mustapa said the app would notify users on the collection schedule too.
“The public can also reach out to the lorry driver in case they missed the collection.
“We encourage those in participating areas to download the app,” said Izrul Fadly.
The ‘3R Famili’ app offers real-time tracking of the collection lorry.
KPT Recycle waste consultant Jaron Keng said paper followed by cardboard were the top two recyclables collected through the programme.
Packaging waste from online purchases, he said, contributed to cardboard and other forms of paper waste.
“This is especially so during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The lockdown brought about a new way of shopping and this contributed to the increase in paper-based waste.
“Next is plastic waste and third is non-recyclable plastics such as toys,” said Keng.
Only six categories of waste are collected through the programme – paper, cardboard, beverage cartons, glass, plastic and metal waste.
Keng said paper waste was recycled at KPT Recycle’s paper mill, which also handles beverage cartons that could be turned into eco-board – a type of building material.
“It is turned into medium paper rolls, including the fluted corrugated sheet in cardboard.”
Plastic waste is sent to be reprocessed into secondary raw materials, and can be made into carpets, plastic crates, gardening tools and kitchenware.
KPT Recycle workers sorting through waste gathered from the door-to-door collection at their facility in Kampung Jawa, Shah Alam.
Metal waste goes to the metal mill to be recycled back into raw materials.
Glass waste is sent to a local recycler to be turned into glass cullet – broken or waste glass suitable for remelting.
As for non-recyclable plastics, these are sent to a cement kiln for use as alternative raw material for fuel.
Among items that are not accepted are used cooking oil, diapers, food waste, ceramics and porcelain, rubber and leather items, cloth and fabric, tissue, glass tableware, paint and motor oil cans, bulk waste, electronic waste, face masks, mirrors and light bulbs.
However, PJ Eco Recycling Plaza may accept some of these items.
