We’ve Got to Do Our Part – Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Yet another worrying article in the newspapers, this time, it’s on  solid waste

According to the government, Malaysians are already throwing nearly 27,000 tonnes of rubbish every day.  And it is expected that we will reach 30,000 tonnes per day well before 2020!  Nearly all of this waste is going to landfills.  But out of the 166 landfills in the country, only EIGHT are sanitary landfills!

No one wants to live near a landfill.  So of course the government must look for sites that are away from residential areas…and that can mean the forest and other natural areas.

The quality of our lives depends on our natural resources, and in Selangor, particularly those found in Taman Negeri Selangor.  Our consumption of goods and our lifestyle overall have an impact on the Park and forests in general.

Taman Negeri Selangor is located immediately eastward from the country’s largest urban complex.  The Forestry Department cannot manage the Park sustainably without the cooperation of the residents of Selangor and beyond.

It is we, the people, who will ultimately influence the Park’s proper management and conservation.  To play our part in conserving the Park and protecting the environment overall, we should remember these simple steps and apply to our daily habits:

1. Rethink how we live and how it affects the environment:

• When we buy an item, think about where it comes from and where it will go to once we finish with it.
• Think about the company that makes the item and ask if they have a good environmental track record

2.  Reduce our consumption of resources:

• By conserving water and energy, we reduce the need to build more dams, which flood our forests and destroy habitats and communities.
•  By reducing what we throw away, we use fewer materials and save land from becoming landfills.
•  By trying to reduce our dependency on cars, we reduce the need to construct more and more highways, which often cut through the forest and disrupt communities.

3.  Re-use and recycle as much as possible

• Re-using and recycling materials such as plastic bottles and paper reduces the need for raw materials, which come from natural resources such as trees.

There are lots of places to get more info.  To get started, you can visit the  TrEES website  for a list of recycling centres in the Klang Valley.  To learn more about how to compost at home, and to learn about home cleaning alternatives, click here .  

Let's all do our part!