JOHOR, 22 August 2024

FOR many, helping the environment is motivation enough to incorporate recycling in their daily lives.

Getting an incentive for their efforts is a bonus.

It has been more than 10 years since retiree Zainal Mohd Yusof, from Kampung Melayu Majidee in Johor Baru, got into recycling when he worked as a teacher.

The 54-year-old said various programmes and activities were being organised back then at his school to inculcate the recycling habit among students.

“As a teacher, I had to set a good example by practising what I preach.

“Along the way, I also picked up the habit of recycling because I wanted to do my part to help reduce what goes to landfills.

“It became my routine to set aside items at home such as papers, plastic and glass bottles, cardboard boxes and aluminium cans for recycling,” he told StarMetro.

He said he would accumulated the items over a month or two before dropping them off at a recycling hub at B5 Johor Street Market in Tampoi.

Reaping the rewards

Zainal said recycling became more enjoyable after he joined KITARecycle, a rewards programme by waste management concessionaire SWM Environment Sdn Bhd that lets users earn points for items they recycle.

“Points can be exchanged for money, but I have yet to redeem them.

“The process is quite easy – I just need to put recyclable items in separate bags and label them accordingly, along with my KITARecycle account number.

“Once the items are collected, SWM Environment staff will weigh them and enter the points into my account, where I can keep track of the quantity of items I have recycled,” he added.

He won a KITARecycle contest in June.

 

“After retiring in January, I had a lot of used books in storage; I recycled them instead of putting them out with the rubbish.“To my surprise, I was named one of the first-prize winners.

“I received 5,000 points in my recycling app and it was the first time I had ever won a competition,” he said, adding that he shared his joy on social media and received many comments from friends who were curious about the programme.

So, Zainal took the opportunity to promote recycling and highlighted the importance of helping the environment, in hopes of getting more people on board.

He feels a sense of responsibility towards the environment and this is what drives him to continue recycling.

“While I cannot force others to have good environmental practices, I hope they will at least realise that part of their responsibility is to take care of their surroundings.

“While I cannot force others to have good environmental practices, I hope they will at least realise that part of their responsibility is to take care of their surroundings.

“This can range from recycling to refraining from littering, and cutting down on utilities usage where possible,” he added.

Educating pupils