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