PENAMPANG: The launching of a mobile recycling centre here will serve as a platform to create awareness on sustainable waste management.
Friends of Village Development (Tonibung) director Adrian Lasimbang said about 40 per cent of rubbish can be recycled before it is discarded into the Kayu Madang landfill in Telipok.
He added that despite efforts from the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) and other non-governmental organisations to encourage waste segregation and offer payments for recyclable items, efforts have been futile.
"It is not effective; we want the community to change their mindset.
"We want them to see the end products of plastic being turned into something with higher value, not just being recycled as single-use plastic or of lower value," he said during the launch at Kampung Kapazan here.
The centre, run from a shipping container, collects plastic bottles, processes them into shredded pieces before turning them into items with higher prices.
It is a joint initiative among Tonibung, Gaya Belian, EZ Plast, Upcycled Shack, Oona and the ADUN Kapayan office, and supported by various government agencies including DBKK and the Penampang District Council.
Present were Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang and former DBKK mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai.
Upcycled Shack founder Tressie Yap said the initiative, which started in February, meant to show how trash can be valuable.
"For example, four cap bottles can be turned into a keychain that is worth RM10. Therefore, do not simply throw those things.
"We will also train underprivileged and people with disabilities on upcycling skills," she said, adding that to date the centre has collected about 500 kgs of recyclable plastic.
Jannie urged the government to initiate collaborative upcycling programmes involving communities.
"This is to ensure district and municipal councils hasten the implementation of the recently adopted solid waste management enactment that will make a huge impact on people's well-being and the future of our societies and even develop a circular economy.
"We have long known that the plastic waste problem is a huge environmental issue that requires big picture thinking and to innovate upcycling in a unique way.
"Having a project that allows upcycling and making plastics into useful things is better than letting them end up in our ever-growing landfills. Many plastic materials that we use daily are harmful to the entire ecosystem".