STARTING from today, households in Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and five states will have to separate recyclables from their rubbish.
But, as a resident in Seremban, I have yet to hear or receive any instruction on how to go about this.
No notice or banner has been put up nor letters dropped in the mailbox.
There is also no invitation to any public forum or meeting on the matter.
Even my old newspaper collector said he had no idea of how it would be.
Have I missed something and therefore, stayed in the dark, or is the Seremban Municipal Council planning to start the campaign only after Sept 1? It would be good if we knew the timeline of its actions.
Its officials are welcome to visit housing areas to explain and even demonstrate how rubbish is to be separated and readied for collection.
Here are a few questions:
MUST plastic, glass, aluminium, metal and food containers be washed and cleaned first before they are put into the recyclable bin(s)?
If they’re not washed and cleaned, they may have to be wrapped in plastic bags first before they are dropped into recyclable bins lest they attract ants and flies, besides exuding a foul odour.
COLLECTION comes only once a week.
The hot weather here induces quick food decay even if they are leftovers in plastic, glass, aluminium or metal containers.
Any leftover liquid food or drink may degenerate into sludge.
WILL households be supplied with recycle bins? There has been no word on this.
If the households are to use three bags (plastic presumably) as suggested, these bags have to be reasonably large and thick to ensure support and durability.
Three bags a week mean about 160 bags a year. That is a lot of plastic.
So, ironically, are we encouraging the use of plastic here?
Besides, this will incur additional cost to the households.
In the long run, perhaps reusable containers or bins are more viable, and if I may add, more environmentally friendly.
What about garden waste? There can be quite a lot: broken or cut branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, rotten or spoilt fruit, old pots and vases.
Usually they are left and scattered on the curb and not collected for months.
They become breeding grounds for insects and even rodents. Walk into any housing estate and you will be greeted with waste dumps.
Be that as it may, I am optimistic and hopeful that there will be transformation of our mindsets on waste disposal.
The cooperation between people and the authorities is most urgent and a prerequisite.
We need not have to wait until next June to see the fruits of the campaign.
LAST but not least, let me also share my observations and experiences when I was in Melbourne, Australia, for about six weeks recently.
In Melbourne, household garbage is sorted into three big bins labelled food waste, recyclables and garden waste.
Different trucks come to collect different waste.
The truck for food waste comes every Monday, recyclables every alternate Monday, and garden waste disposal on Monday as well as on request.
The sorting of the recyclables into paper, plastic, glass, aluminium, metal, polystyrene and others is to be done by the collecting firm.
My stay there had allowed me to observe five Monday morning collections.
The trucks came within an hour of the scheduled times.
There was no rubbish on roads or pavements and there was no smell of sludge.
It could also be discerned that the workers observed and followed health and safety precautions and procedures.
They enjoyed and took pride in their work.
We would do well to emulate the good practices noted above.
The grass need not have to be greener down under. We can do just as well.
LIONG KAM CHONG, SEREMBAN, NEGRI SEMBILAN