By Winston Lim, Center for American Education, INTI International College Subang
“Thirty percent of the Subang Jaya City Council’s (MBSJ) budget, amounting to RM57 million, is allocated towards trash disposal when it could be used to support other infrastructure and the local environment,” said YB Michelle Ng Mei Sze, the Subang Jaya Assemblyperson (ADUN).
The Center for American Education (CAE) organized the talk “Waste Management: Challenges and Solutions” on 22 February which featured YB Michelle along with What A Waste (WaW) co-founder Alvin Chen, and Minimize Zero Waste Store founder Jayne Lee.
The talk provided an overview of Subang Jaya’s waste management issues and offered sustainable solutions to reduce waste. The talk served as a prelude to a gotong-royong which was carried out later that week. Both the talk and the gotong royong are CAE’s initiatives to provide holistic education by making corporate social responsibility a sustainable practice, driven by a higher purpose to support their communities.
YB Michelle proceeded to encourage residents of Subang Jaya to make recycling a habit and adopt other environmentally beneficial practices.
Alvin Chen, the co-founder of WaW, added that to prevent food waste and sustainably feed the poor, his team at WaW works hard to salvage food and prepare three meals a day for the underprivileged in Kuala Lumpur. He hoped everyone could act by refusing to buy non-biodegradable products and waste as little food as possible.
The third speaker, Jayne Lee, shared that the purpose of the Minimize Zero Waste Store in SS18 is to encourage change and inform people about how lifestyle changes can affect purchasing decisions. Jayne highlighted that everyone needs to start implementing the 5Rs in sustainable practice, namely: refuse, reuse, reduce, recycle, and rot.
Uma Muthusamy, the organizing chairperson of the gotong royong, who is also a lecturer at the CAE, said the talk aimed to educate the students before they clean up the streets.