i9iife.

PACESM3

THEFUTURE
takeastep:Smallgreenhabitsculminate
inpermanentlifestylechanges
IZULITAMUSTAFA
zulita<smst.com.my

ASofSept1,itismandatory involvedintheplanning,execution
fortwomillionhomesinthe andmanagementoftheeventsand
countrytoseparatetheirrub activities.
bish.UndertheSolidWasteandPub
Theprojectisuniquebecauseit
licCleansingManagementAct2007 providesaplatformforthepublicto
(Act672),recyclableandnonrecy preservetheenvironmentandhelp
clablewastehavetobeseparatedat thoseinneedatthesametimeby
thepointoforiginifthewasteisto recyclinguseddrinkpacks.
AcollectionpointfortheTaman
becollectedbysolidwastemanage
mentconcessionaires.
Connaughtcommunityhasbeen
Thenewapproachtosolidwaste setup,reachingouttosome10,000
managementwillbeimplementedin UCSIUniversitystudentsandstaff
stagesinStatesandterritoriesthat since2013.
"Wehaveseenagradualbut
haveadoptedtheAct,namelyKuala
Lumpur,Putrajaya,Pahang,Johor, steadyincreaseintherecyclingof
Malacca,NegriSembilan,Perlisand cartons,aswenowhavetwocol
Kedah.
lectionbins,courtesyofTetraPak,
Althoughtherearemanyongo placedatstrategiclocationswithin
ingprogrammesonrecyclingand theuniversity,andacommercialbin
wastemanagementathighereduca forstoringcollectedcartonsuntil
tioninstitutions,only10.5percent thecollector,iCycle,comesbyto
ofMalaysianspractiserecyclingof collectasrequired,"saidLim.
FromJanuarytoSeptemberthis
waste.
UniversitiPutraMalaysiawas year,200kgofusedbeverageand
placed41stinthelatestUIGreen foodpackageshavebeencollected
MetricWorldUniversityRanking throughtheproject.Thisreflects
basedonitscampussustainability asteadyincreasesincetheCarton
effortsandenvironmentalmanage CollectionCompetitionheldtwicea
yearbyUCSIsinceSeptember2013.
ment.
Thecompetitionistheflagshipevent
RECYCLINGEFFORTS
undertheCAREtonproject,which
Onesuccessfulrecyclinginitiative
supportsTetraPak'scollaboration
istheCAREtonProject,aneffort
underTetraPakwhichchampions withNestletorecycleusedbeverage
recyclingeffortsandpartnersyouth cartonsintoroofingtiles.
intheprocess.Itiscommittedtopro
Theuniversityhasseveralsigna
motingwidespreadrecyclingpro tureactivitiesincludingfunactivi
grammesforusedbeveragecartons tiesattheperiodicalawareness
inthecountryandacrosstheglobe.
UCSIUniversity(UCSI)isthefirst
universityinthecountryinvolvedin
thisproject.
InitiatedbyAssistantProfessor
DrCrystaleLimSiewYing,aFaculty
ofAppliedSciences(FOAS)lecturer,
sheisalsoCAREtonProjectadviser.
Theprojectattheuniversityis
managedbyadedicatedteamcon
sistingofFOASstudentswhoare

Thisyear'sprojectisdedicated
tohelpingthevictimsoftheeast
coastfloodsincooperationwith
EPICHomes.

"Theeastcoastfloodsdisplaced
tensofthousandsofpeople.While
manyevacueeshavesincereturned
totheirvillages,theyremainhome
lessastheirhousesweredestroyed
bytheprolongedflooding.Wehave
committedCAREtonProject2015
collectiontorebuildingeffortsto
helpvictimswhoareinneedof
roofingtilesforanewhome,"said
Manjula.
"Thisconsumerrecyclingcam
paigntargetstocollect8.5million
useddrinkpacksfromthepublic

andrecycletheminto1,150roofing
tilestobuild25homesfortheflood
victims.

"TetraPak,withthesupportof
MILOUHT,willthenmatchthetar

getednumberofroofingtilesraised
bythepublic,thusincreasingthe
numberto50homes.

"EPICHomes,thebeneficiaryof
theCAREtonProjectforthepasttwo
years,willbuildthehousesaswellas
managethedistributionofroofing
tilestoothervillagesinneed.The
projectrunsallyearlong."
Therecyclingrateofusedbever
agecartonsinthecountryisonthe
rise,withasteadyincreasefromzero
percentin2005to17.9percentby
end2013.

"That'sover350millionrecycled
membershipdrivestoencourage TetraPakcartonsin2013,amount
studentinvolvementinevents.
ingto3,898tonnesofmaterials

boothintheStudentCentreand

CARETONPROJECT

whichwereturnedintonewprod

TetraPakMalaysia,Singaporeand

ucts.

thePhilippinesenvironmentman

"Educationiskeytotheincrease
agerManjulaMurugesansaidthe inrecyclingrates,whichiswhywe
bestwayforgreencampusesto workinpartnershipwithcustom
nurtureasustainablemindsetin ers,retailersandnongovernment
thenextgenerationistoencourage organisationstorunvariouscon
smallgreenhabitsthatculminatein sumerawarenessprogrammes."
permanentlifestylechanges.

CULTIVATINGTHEGREENCAMPUS

alongwayinprovidingtheavenues
andeasilyaccessiblefacilitiesfor
"Wewouldnothavebeenableto selfsustaininggreeninitiativeson
proceedthisfarwithoutpartners campus.Greenisthefuture,orelse
suchasUCSI.Itisreallyimpressive wewon'thaveafuture,"
howinnovativeuniversitypartners
Manjulaaddededucationfor
cangettoreachthetarget,"added sustainabilitycallsforabalanced
Manjula.
approachwhichavoidsundue
"Bypartneringwithgreencam emphasisonchangesinindividual
puses,wecanempowerstudents lifestylesandithastoberecognised
withtheopportunitytoleadand thatmanyoftheenvironmental
beinvolvedinthedevelopment, problemsarerelatedtoone'swayof
managementandmaintenanceof living,andthatsolutionsarerooted
sustainableprojects,withguidance inchangesinindividuallifestyles.
Limadded:"Recyclingiseasy
fromdedicateduniversitystaff.Trust
studentstofindeffectiveideasto whenlifestylechangesaremadeto
MINDSET

nextgenerationofleadersanddeci
sionmakerswhentheyjoinsociety
upongraduation.Theyoungandyet
sociallyinfluentialgroupcanmakea
positiveimpactoncommunalrecy

clingbyinfluencingnotonlytheir
friendsandfamilybutalsosociety
atlargewhentheypractisetheiron
campusrecyclinghabitsathomeand
UCSIUniversityisnowaStudent
EnrichmentProgramme(SEP).Asa
SEP,UCSIUniversityTrustScholar
shipstudentscanchoosetovolun
teerforitaspartoftheircommunity
engagementwork.Thisensuresthe

connectwiththeirfriends,aspeer inculcaterecyclinghabits,sothatit
teerstoensureitscontinuity.
becomessecondnature.
influencecanbeverypowerful.
Fordetails,visitwww.recycle
"Webelievethatsupportfrom
"Universitystudentswillbethe
easy.com.my
universitymanagementwillalsogo

"Recycling
iseasywhen
itbecomes
second

nature."
DrCiystaleLim
SiewYing,
UCSIAssistantProfessor

ManjulaMurugesan(left)holdingasampleofthesturdyrooftilemadefromdrink
cartonssimilartotheoneheldbyCrystaleLim.