3R Community Initiatives

MBPJ was invited to share our experience with participants from other local authorities and agencies last week in implementing 4 community initiatives on waste minimisation and 3R. These include Household Waste Composting, Educating Household in making Eco-Enzyme, Smart Rangers for 3R and Green Awards for Schools in PJ. These initiatives were funded by SWMC-DANIDA and supported by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

Realising that waste management is a challenge that weaken the financial and management capability of the Council, applications were made to the Ministry for funding us in carrying out pilot scheme to experience effective ways of reducing the problems of solid waste management.

These initiatives under Local Agenda 21 Petaling Jaya shared common bottom line, namely stakeholders participation, solution at source, inclusiveness and duplicability.

Stakeholders participation is critical to ensure the sustainability of a programme. As stakeholders are involved from the beginning, follow through the whole process and finally claiming ownership over the project, the successful rate for continuity is higher. Most of the time we witness a programmes started with big bang, but quiet down and then led to natural dead because of sustainability and lack of interest amongst the stakeholders. By getting people involved and well trained can also convert the participants as trainers and mentors for replication exercise later. Our Household Waste Composting Initiative for example, managed to recruit 46 project participants as trainers.

Secondly solution at source should also be promoted. While any methods of 3R is welcome, solution at source is the most logical move, and of course the most effective and "humanised". By promoting solution at source also encourage every individual bears personal responsibility on the waste they generated. It is "polluter paid" principle. Similarly, inclusiveness is emphasized in line with the policy of MBPJ in creating an universal design society. Of course, reducing the resources and thus waste from the premises will also mean reduction of transportation and manpower cost of collecting and disposing the waste.

Duplicability is by far the most important factor as this is what the pilot projects are carried out for. While all the projects can be replicated, the continuity is very much based on the human factor. The participants who have benefited from the pilot projects and their willingness to continue as well as to mentor or coach others to further expand the initiatives.

MBPJ simply cannot afford to lost the momentum or else the efforts of pilot project will be wasted.