The Star, Wednesday, 30 December 2015
Rosidah Junaidi (third from left) receiving a container for used cooking oil from MPKj deputy president Zamani Ahmad Mansor.
THE Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has jumped on the bandwagon for green living by introducing a composting programme.
Instead of dumping organic waste into landfills and incinerators, the council wants to process unwanted food waste into fertilisers.
Targeting traders and hawkers, council deputy president Zamani Ahmad Mansor said the council would continue to encourage individuals and families to make compost as a way of recycling waste.
“Traders at the market will now throw organic waste into a three-tonne compost bin provided by MPKj.
“The waste will be fermented into compost and once the bin is
full, we will clear it and send it to be processed into fertiliser.
“This market alone produces about a tonne of waste per month.
“We will use the produced fertiliser for our landscaping, instead of buying fertilisers, thus reducing cost.
“If there are extras, we will distribute it to the public for free.
“We are also launching this programme at Pasar Kajang later today.
“Hopefully it can be expanded to all the markets under our jurisdiction,” said Ahmad Mansor, during the launch of the Composting Green Waste recycling programme with the community at Pasar Seksyen 1, Bandar Baru Bangi.
He added that the initiative was funded by the state government’s allocation of RM40,000.
“To encourage traders to recycle used cooking oil, we have given them 20-litre containers. The hawkers are paid RM1 per kg of used oil.
“In this compost programme, however, we will not issue any payment,” he said.
While such green schemes encourage positive habits, some traders are sceptical in investing effort towards them.
“This should have been done four or five years ago,” said Bandar Baru Bangi Malay Hawkers and Small Traders Association chairman Datin Hadijah Mohamed, who expressed her disappointment at the rate at which green initiatives were being introduced in the state.
“Compost is really useful, it makes plants grow very fast. The Japanese have been making fertiliser from compost for a long time.
“Selangor is very slow in catching on,” said Hadijah, 66, who holds an engineering degree but had retired and now sold traditional cakes at the Bandar Baru Bangi market.
Hadijah said she did not cook much but was given a composting container anyway.
Having run her stall Kak Ros Catering for 12 years at the market, stall operator Rosidah Junaidi, 59, said she used about 1kg of cooking oil every day.
“No one has come to collect any of it yet,” she said, pointing to an opaque white container half-filled with oil.
While all the waste from Rosidah’s stall had always been thrown into a garbage bin daily, she said she would put the organic waste in the new bin provided by MPKj under the new programme.
Another trader, Asmah Mohammad, 59, who had been selling vegetables for more than 20 years at the market, said all of her spoilt stock would go into the new compost bin.
“The waste bin we used previously would stink and be surrounded by flies even if not removed for a day,” she said, hoping MPKj would be prompt in clearing the compost bin once it was full.
Instead of dumping organic waste into landfills and incinerators, the council wants to process unwanted food waste into fertilisers.
Targeting traders and hawkers, council deputy president Zamani Ahmad Mansor said the council would continue to encourage individuals and families to make compost as a way of recycling waste.
“Traders at the market will now throw organic waste into a three-tonne compost bin provided by MPKj.
“This market alone produces about a tonne of waste per month.
“We will use the produced fertiliser for our landscaping, instead of buying fertilisers, thus reducing cost.
“If there are extras, we will distribute it to the public for free.
“We are also launching this programme at Pasar Kajang later today.
“Hopefully it can be expanded to all the markets under our jurisdiction,” said Ahmad Mansor, during the launch of the Composting Green Waste recycling programme with the community at Pasar Seksyen 1, Bandar Baru Bangi.
He added that the initiative was funded by the state government’s allocation of RM40,000.
“To encourage traders to recycle used cooking oil, we have given them 20-litre containers. The hawkers are paid RM1 per kg of used oil.
“In this compost programme, however, we will not issue any payment,” he said.
While such green schemes encourage positive habits, some traders are sceptical in investing effort towards them.
“This should have been done four or five years ago,” said Bandar Baru Bangi Malay Hawkers and Small Traders Association chairman Datin Hadijah Mohamed, who expressed her disappointment at the rate at which green initiatives were being introduced in the state.
“Compost is really useful, it makes plants grow very fast. The Japanese have been making fertiliser from compost for a long time.
“Selangor is very slow in catching on,” said Hadijah, 66, who holds an engineering degree but had retired and now sold traditional cakes at the Bandar Baru Bangi market.
Hadijah said she did not cook much but was given a composting container anyway.
Having run her stall Kak Ros Catering for 12 years at the market, stall operator Rosidah Junaidi, 59, said she used about 1kg of cooking oil every day.
“No one has come to collect any of it yet,” she said, pointing to an opaque white container half-filled with oil.
While all the waste from Rosidah’s stall had always been thrown into a garbage bin daily, she said she would put the organic waste in the new bin provided by MPKj under the new programme.
Another trader, Asmah Mohammad, 59, who had been selling vegetables for more than 20 years at the market, said all of her spoilt stock would go into the new compost bin.
“The waste bin we used previously would stink and be surrounded by flies even if not removed for a day,” she said, hoping MPKj would be prompt in clearing the compost bin once it was full.
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