Recycling project draws encouraging interest, helps raise public awareness

Monday, September 2, 2013

HUNDREDS of people gathered at Kg Sg Kebun, Kampong Ayer, as villagers exchanged 8.2 tonnes of recyclable w

aste for 2,000 kilogrammes of rice as part of the 5th installation of the Green Xchange project organized by the Society for Community Outreach and Training (SCOT). For the second time in as many years, residents of the water village arrived in droves for the event yesterday, which hopes to promote recycling as a method of reducing household waste.
SCOT representatives had already been in the area several weeks ago to announce the plans, allowing surrounding households to prepare their recyclable waste for collection according to different categories such as paper, metal and plastic.”Villagers can bring their recyclables here, which we will then exchange for a set amount of rice, depending on weight. That’s the whole idea,” explained Mohd Mahyuddin Hj Othman, public relations officer for SCOT. Under the project, a kilogramme of waste or a unit of old electronics and appliances can be traded for a coupon valued at B$1.00. Each coupon can then be exchanged for 1.5 kilogrammes of rice.
According to the project manager, Mohd Fadzil Afifi Hj Mohd Hussin, villagers in the area had been looking forward to the project, particularly after the success of the first visit in January 2012. “We received good feedback, especially from the mosque’s imam (who heads the mosque committee organising collection). They have been collecting from the residents. Hopefully, this will expand to other villages,” said Mohd Afifi.
He also felt the response would be better this time around, adding that they had prepared for 130 volunteers, and anticipated more than 1,000 villagers to turn up for this year’s event.

Hj Abu Samah Shukri Hj Mohd Hussein, the head imam of Al-Muhtadee Billah Mosque, where the collection was held, agreed, saying that even residents from neighbouring villages had come to bring their waste for exchange. “Everyone nearby has been involved, including our mosque committee here, and even from nearby villages who heard of this, lik

e Kg Setia and from Lumapas. I hope that this project can be followed up by SCOT and other organisations, to take place every year. From what is estimated, this project site collects the most compared to others,” said Hj Abu.Present to officiate the project was guest of honour, Datin Paduka Hjh Adina Othman, Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. In her speech, she praised the Green Xchange project, citing its success so far in collecting 18,100 tonnes (not including the day’s 8.2 tonnes) of recyclable waste in exchange for 5,000 kilogrammes of rice (not including the day’s 2,000 kilogrammes).

The Green Xchange project’s approach of community recycling was adopted from the Avelife Foundation of Singapore, which met success instilling a recycling habit in Singaporeans. SCOT, together with Avelife and UBD Training, collaborated on the Green Xchange project to replicate its success in Brunei.

The Brunei Times

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Source: The Brunei Times
Author: Daniel Wood
Published Date: 2 September 2013