Live a Sustainable Life! The 7 R's of Sustainable Living.

1. REFUSE


Think about the choices you are making.  If you don't have to use/buy a product then don't!

Do you need the paper towel? NO! Refuse it and use the air dryer instead!

2. REDUCE.

If you still need certain items at least reduce the quantity you are purchasing!

Don't be like Sasha. Reduce and buy only what you need!

3. REINFORCE

Protect your belongs so you don't have to get rid of them when they break or get damaged. Cover your books! Service your things before they break down! 

4. REPAIR

If your things do break don't throw them away immediately do a little repair action!

The Ranger's friend Drew knows how to repair a pair of jeans! Sew on a patch and you can be making a fashion statement!

5. REUSE

When possible reuse your things instead of disposing of them.

Reuse your plastic water bottles!

Or better yet...

Get creative! Here someone has reused a cereal box to make a magazine holder!

6. RECYCLE

If you've been reading our blog you know one thing you can do to make the world a better place... RECYCLE! 

7. REDESIGN

Redesign your way of living. Ask yourself what you can do to reduce the amount of waste you produce.  See what changes you can make in your life to stop using plastic and save the world!

Green Building

No. The building is not literally green.

We are referring to Saujana, a student hostel in Universiti Sains Malaysia. The hostel has shown impressive efforts to go green. So, what's a Recycling Ranger ought to do? Take pictures and show them to the world!

Penang's Recycling Problems and its Hazy Solutions

Hello again!

Recently we have been looking into newspaper articles to see if they could shed some light on Penang's recycling initiative.  Although low in numbers we found some that shed light on the situation.  One article from The Star discussed Penang's hope to initiate a vigorous green agenda this year and achieve higher recycling rates.  Although the highest in the country currently Penang stands with a dismal 15% recycling rate.  Internationally the average rate is between 35% and 40%.  The article did not divulge what this increased action may be but hopefully they can raise those rates!

In a report put out by United Nations Development Program they evaluate the current recycling practices in Penang.  In order for Penang to become a better recycling community they are some problems that must be addressed and they are...

- Land availability.  There is extremely limited space on the island for waste disposal. The state has become increasingly more interested in building a waste incinerator on the island.

- Community Recycling. The amount of recycling across the island varies and depends entirely on people's voluntary actions for recycling programs.  This means the work and activities fluctuate often.

- No structural financial support.  Revenues from recycling most often go to charity after they have paid for operations.

- Uncertainty of privatization.  The waste management is privatized and although holds much potential there is very little structure has it is going through the modernization process.

Its good to hear that Penang's government and other institutions are working towards a greener future but how about some recycling bins?

YES we can!

The Youth Eenrgy Squad of Universiti Sains Malaysia has made a survey as regards to how we use energy.
how wnergy efficient are we, USM students?

For more information email them at yesinusm@gmail .com or contact Gene-Harn @0173528954.

To take part in the survey, click on this link . Be counted!

what YOU can do!

Looking back at our blog the Recycling Rangers have noticed a common trend. Negativity. We haven't really been impressed with any initiatives we've seen throughout Penang, Malaysia, and neighboring countries.  So rather than been negative nancys the Rangers are going to tell you how you can recycle in Penang and make a difference.

Check out them Rangers. So serious about changing the world. If you don't want to mess with this...RECYCLE! 

1. Refer to our early post about what is recyclable and how to organize these items and sort as directed!


2. Gather you neighbors and encourage them to make a difference too! Whether you live in an apartment or neighborhood asks neighbors to gather their recycling products the same way you did! The upside of have a community initiative is that it is easier for you to have your recycling collected because you can...


3.  Contact recycling contractors to come pick up your items!


To make this even easier for you the Rangers have found a list of contractors around Penang. So who ya gonna call? RECYCLING CONTRACTORS!

O.K. Scrap Trading
012 433 0632 (Olwin Keh)
04 - 829 9632

Ee Sheng Huat Sdn. Bhd.
04 - 626 5232
Fax 04 - 626 2501

Eden Handicap Service Centre Bhd.
016 - 480 8818 (Peggy)
04 - 644 2912
Fax 04 - 228 2834

Zurich Chong
013 -484 0138

Home Initial Recycling Services (based in KL)http://www.recycling.com.my

Kulim Fo En Recycling Bhd
No. 74, Lorong Semarak 3, Taman Semarak, 09000 Kulim, Kedah.
Tel: 04 491 8019 Contact person: Cordelia (013 430 5667) or Mr Hoo (016 444 4138)

Wearable Old Clothes
Tacco Venture Contact person: Damien Lim (019 442 0808 or 017 495 6493)

E- Waste
Donnell Tan (016 4142 423)

4. If you find yourself with unwilling neighbors we suggest you move... who wants un-environmentally friendly neighbors anyway? Not the Rangers!

However, if this is not an option you can take your recyclables to a number of recycling centers:

Malaysian Nature Society
673-B, Jalan Kebun Bungah, 10350 Penang.
Contact: Mr Kanda (04 227 3673 or 013 453 7992)
Friends of the Botanical Garden
673-A, Jalan Kebun Bungah, 10350 Penang.
Tel: 04 227 9915
The Enlightenment Home Assoc. Penang
16, Jalan Bawasah, 10050 Penang
Contact: Miss Linda Moo ( 019 510 6066) or Mr Mok (016 495 9886)

5. Sit back, relax, and know that you are changing the world. One plastic bottle at a time...

And on an ending note. One more time...REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE!

Trip to see green soaps

Should we really start going organic? What are the benefits of using organic products?

These questions will be answered on April 9, 2010.

Details? See below:

Green Trip: Organic Soap Manufacturing Process at Lahat


Date: 9th April 2010 (Friday)

Time: 6.30am-5.00pm

Venue: Might Environmental Product Sdn Bhd, Lahat, Perak

Gather at Padang Kawad PALAPES at 6.30am


Please register yourself as the details below:

1. Name

2. IC no.

3. HP no.

4. Email

via kampussejahtera@gmail.com or call/sms 014-9054719

What are you waiting for? There are still 20 seats available~~

credits to: kampus sejahtera for details

Queensbay recycling?

The past weeks the Recycling Rangers have been trying to contact different establishments around Penang to see whether they have been providing the resources for customers to recycle their trash or practicing other sorts of recycling activities.  So far the responses haven't been promising and by responses we mean lack thereof.  The only facility that would respond to our questions was Queensbay Mall however, they ignored our question about providing recycling facilities and instead focused on a new KDU college "Go Eco Not Ego" shopping bag design competition (which Queensbay has a partnership with).  This competition was inspired by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s initial launch of the “No Plastic Mondays” Campaign and asks for applicants to design a new eco-friendly bag that will hopefully provide inspiration for the reduction in use of plastic bags.  The bags submitted will be auctioned off with proceeds going to charity.  

                         

Although this is a good starting effort it has little effect in directly reducing the number of plastic bags used. However, what it does do is bring awareness to the importance of recycling and hopefully encourage the public to think twice about using plastic bags when there is a much more sustainable option! And for that we cannot complain!

As for recycling in Queensbay the lack of acknowledgement does not gives us much hope about their recycling practices. We have never noticed bins for recycling in stores or throughout the mall but we hope this will change soon as more awareness is brought up about the issue!

Perak Bus Station

Last week, we went to Perak to visit a friend. We are pleasantly suprised to see their recycling efforts as shown in the pictures below:

The bins may look old but at least, there's an effort on their part.

A closer view of the bins

Our happiness did not last long for even if they have those huge bins that you will never overlook, they are still throwing rubbish of different kinds to these...

Even if there's clearly 4 different kinds of bin, people still throw different kinds of trash inside them. Some garbage even ended right through the mini-canal.

Up until now, we are still confused as to why they would throw things when proper bins are provided for different kinds of trash. Then we realize that it is not enough to provide only the materials, we need to educate people on why do we need to use them.

Even if the trip was slightly disappointing because of what we found out, we still want to keep our hopes high.  Having those bins sure are good for starters. But honestly, we need more than separate bins to inculcate the need to recycle.

What do you think?

Our trash' life span

The things we take for granted are the things that may have lasting effects. This is true to the case of our 'throwing' habits. Little do we know that these things that we throw away may exceed our own life span.

Such is the case when we mindlessly consider EVERYTHING that is no longer useful in our own point-of-view as garbage. In an interview with an exchange student from Sweden, she talks about how the green capital of Europe has always done its best to recycle. Ulrika Uldstrand says that outside their homes, they have different bins for recyclables and that they use biogas for their cars.

How long does it really take for our 'trash' to decompose? The Environmental Club of USM has posted the length of time needed for our trash to be totally decomposed.

To further break it down:

BANANA PEELINGS      = 5 weeks

CIGARETTE STUBS       = 5 years

WOODEN FURNITURES = 20 years

PILLOWS                          = 50 years

DIAPERS/ALUMINUM       = 500 years

PLASTICS                               = 1,000 years

BOTTLES MADE OUT OF GLASS = 4,000 years

STYROFOAM                                  = 10,000 years

Next time you throw-away these waste items, think again.

Credits to: Environmental Club of USM for the image

Call for Recycling Rangers in the Perhentian Islands!

Hello all!


This weekend the recycling rangers spent our time relaxing and swimming at the beautiful Perhentian Islands!  Although it was a lovely place to visit one thing that wasn't so lovely was the amount of litter we saw.  We had heard rumors about the trash build up and lack of recycling on the islands before we arrived but thought they were simply nasty rumors.  This seemed to be somewhat true when we arrived at the jetty to take us to the tropical paradise as every traveler had to pay 5 ringgit to marine park protection to help the trash collection and clean up.  However, funnily enough, as we paid these fees within 3 meters of us was a dirty collection of bottles and other trash items floating in the water...

Dirty dirty water. Lets hope our 5 rm goes to that?

Unfortunately the situation wasn't much better on the island with unsightly garbage barges and litter (mostly plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other recyclables) filling the waters.  When research about these garbage barges we found an article from The Star published the 15th of June blaming these trash collection schemes on the tourists (for article: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/15/nation/4120173&sec=nation).  However, after further exploration into the matter and asking some locals we found out that the majority of plastic trash bags collected on the floating rafts are produced by locals.  The marine park is not collecting this trash and a lot of the time the bags fall off the rafts polluting the water.  We found it upsetting that the newspaper and state government are placing the blame elsewhere rather than seeking alternatives to fix these problems and make sure the marine preservation fees are going to the right cause.  This overload of barges and litter are beginning to the seriously damage the marine life of the island.  It is especially damaging to the turtles who mistake the floating trash for food.  

Empty garbage barge floating close to shore reading to be filled with trash

SAVE THIS ADORABLE TURTLE!

DON'T LET IT EAT YOUR PLASTIC BAGS! RECYCLE THEM!

We hope that the marine conversation fee begins to make a difference on these islands so they can be sustained for future generations to enjoy!

How to Recycle

The right way to recycle resources from your household waste

What is Recyclable?

    Newspaper 

 

Books, magazine, loose paper

How to: recycle these paper items: Tie into bundles; 4-5kg per bundle for easy handling

Cardboard

large & small cartons, tissue boxes, shoe boxes & other types of cardboard boxes

How to recycle: All to be flaten and tied to bundles according to sizes

Glass bottles

 beer bottles, jam jars, sauce bottles etc.

Clear plastic

mineral water bottles, large and small old bottles

Coloured plastic

ice-cream container, liquid soap containers, pails, other plastic containers

Tin cans 

Sardine, milk, and all canned food tins

Aluminum cans

Coca cola, Pepsi, etc.

How to recycle tin, plastic, glass, and aluminum containers: Rinse and organize each into respective groups 

Usable old clothes

Recycle in good and wearable condition

Linked from: http://www.greencrusaders.com/pages/recycling-info/right-way-to-recycle.php

Recycling on the Mainland!

Check this out! We went to Bukit Merah on the weekend to check out the Waterpark...and this was at the entrance by the food stalls!  Recycling bins! There were bins for plastic bottles and cans, one for glass and one for paper! These were the first set of bins we have seen in Penang and were pleased to see an environmentally friendly resort.  Bukit Merah Resort is one of Malaysia's premier eco-tourism destinations in the Northern region and we hope the eco-tourism trend continues throughout Malaysia!

The Land of Smiles - the Land of Recycling?

A few weeks back the Recycling Rangers expanded our recycling outlook to Thailand and were pleasantly surprised to see that recycling appeared to be much more apparent than in Malaysia. Although there were many trashcans filled to the brim with plastic bottles and other recycling materials there were definite efforts to improve the build-up of plastic around the country. For the first time in Southeast Asia we laid our eyes on a recycling bin! Unfortunately after peering inside we discovered that there was probably more waste inside than recyclables but it still gave us hope that the recycling message was being put out there. Another suggestion towards Thailand’s steps towards a greener tomorrow was the use of glass bottles instead of plastic or cans. We witnessed trucks collecting crates and crates of these bottles to return back to the factory to reuse again. At one point we purchased a glass bottled drink at a convenience store and the owner asked us to pour the drink into our own bottle so that he could later recycle it. Very exciting when you consider the plastic bottle pile-ups found all around Penang! At some places in Thailand guesthouses even got creative with reusing their recyclables. I may have just been for convenience but we can pretend it was their green conscience! Along the beaches Red Bull and various other cans and bottles were used as torches or even borders along a pathway.

 

Philippines' premier university takes the greener route

The University of the Philippines Diliman launched its campaign to reduce the waste produced by using styrofoams for taking out food from cafeterias found within the university's area.

BYO or bring your own is the guiding principle for students. They are being encouraged to bring their own containers when buying food. The food vendors are also discouraged from packing the food taken out in styrofoams.

The campaign for a styrofoam-free campus was launched in February 2010 and is envisioned to reduce the waste the university produces everyday.

a copy of the memorandum being given to university dormitories

*image taken from Facebook

Where should your HPs go?

You think your dysfunctional handphone should be thrown away? You got it wrong!

Consider these before you put them in the trash bin!


- Some 240,000 tonnes of raw materials can be conserved if only all three billion handphone owners in the world recycle their devices. Nokia’s environmental coordinator Nellie Abdullah said this would be equal to taking four million cars off the roads.
- 80% of the handphone parts can recycled. Plastic covers can be made into traffic cones and charger's cord into anti-static mats.

the big BUT?

-only 3% of the 6,500 handphone owners surveyed worldwide by Nokia recycled their devices

*facts lifted from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/8/nation/4071992&sec=nation
*picture from Google images

Business giants are making it happen too

Sure you have heard about how business establishments are powerful agents for change. After all, they have the necessary connections coming from the political and business arena. Not to mention their power as well over the consumers.

In a recent trip to buy food supplies at Tesco-Sg. Dua, Penang, one very noticeable change is the way they've put up those huge signs saying how we can reduce waste by bringing our own plastic bags. They also have these racks of grocery bags made out of eco-friendly materials that they sell. These bags come in different colors and looks which make it even more fashionable to use. The efforts doesn't end there. What makes it even more laudable is the fact that they actually charge people a minimum of 20 cents per plastic bag bought - a stark reminder that every wasted plastic bag translates to environmental costs. These environmental costs may not be monetary but if you are experiencing hotter than the usual summer, then past human activities (e.g. relentless and mindless disposal of waste) can be blamed.

This effort by Tesco is not only lip service as it really has taken an action by levying (e.g. asking customers to pay for plastic bags if they don't bring one) costs to potential dangers excessive use of plastic bags (without recycling) might bring.

For more information about how they are making it happen, you can click on this.

*image taken from http://www.tesco.com.my/html/community.aspx?ID=9&PID=79&LID=1

Recycling as an art

Get to know Marlouzel, she is a writer and a student taking up BA Anthropology. She has managed to turn some things considered garbage into new pieces of functional objects. 

She says that she got into recycling mainly because of necessity. Most of her works started from the need to make things functional so she doesn't have to spend another cent on trivial things. Then they later evolved into what she does best - making art.

All the materials she uses are the ones you can also easily find. Perhaps by now you can find these in your trash can or in a place you've already forgotten. Take a look at how she has managed to make these pieces of "junk" into new works of art.

     

     Diskettes she doesn't use anymore which she turned into pen holders.

        

using the paper she has made out of the scratch of papers that she has - voila! a work of art with matching paper texture

Here, you realize that the sky's the limit when it comes to recycling. Whatever you have to work on, it can always be turned into something usable again. You not only satisfy your eyes with the beauty of your creation but also be one of the forces that help in making earth more sustainable.

note:pictures were taken from http://lozibalasi.blogspot.com/search/label/recycling