Put trash to good use

Dk Nur Qayyimah Santika Pg Md Apri (4th L) talks of being responsible with one’s waste. Courtesy of Asia Inc

Around 4,000kg of recyclable materials were collected during the Asia Inc’s Trash to Treasure Campaign. Courtesy of Asia Inc

Around 4,000kg of recyclable materials were collected during the Asia Inc’s Trash to Treasure Campaign. Courtesy of Asia Inc

Nadzri Zailani

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Monday, August 11, 2014

RECYCLING and reusing products instead of throwing it all into the landfills would not only benefit the environment but also the individual, according to several participants of the Trash to Treasure Campaign.

The final part of the Trash to Treasure campaign at the Silver Jubilee Park concluded with yesterday’s collection of 1976kg of recyclables, bringing the total of recyclables collected up to 4,000kg.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, the Asia Inc Forum Programme Executive Low Leng May said that “A lot of waste products are used every day that are harmful to the environment. We can’t continue to throw trash into the landfills, we need to recycle and turn the trash into something useful, which will also create a more sustainable environment.”

She added that by working with Green Apeel all the recyclable materials would be exchanged and the proceeds from it would be donated to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) to fund their future projects.

Lim Charn Woah, a member of Beach Bunch, one of the NGOs, told The Brunei Times that recycling has given her an alternate route for disposing waste materials other than leaving the materials in a corner for an indefinite period of time or burning it.

“It’s widely known that recycling is for the better of our environment but to me, reusing adds more meaning to things we use compared to items we can get brand new. Buying new things also mean using more money” she said.

In another interview, a Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Masters Student Dk Nur Qayyimah Santika Pg Md Apri spoke to The Brunei Times about the importance of being responsible with one’s waste.

“There’s a quote ‘with great power, comes great responsibility’. As everyday consumers having purchasing power over products, we are responsible to manage the waste that comes after using those materials. When something is recyclable, recycle, if it’s reusable, reuse it.” she said.

As a supporter of humanitarian and environmental campaigns, she and her family divides their household waste into several categories according to its material and even recycle food waste to use as compost for their garden.

“The negative effects of our lack of responsibility in managing our waste are evident and we’re still cleaning up after the waste of the generation before us. Recycling plays a big part in conserving energy and natural resources. Our planet can only give us so much so we should use all the power we have to sustain a healthy Earth,” she added.

The Brunei Times

Source: http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2014/08/11/put-trash-good-use