Recycling

Recycling is a process to convert used materials or wastes into other useful materials, with the intention to reduce wastage.  Recycling conserves natural resources, reduces the consumption of raw materials and minimizes energy usage. This in turn, suppresses greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, reduces the need for landfilling and incineration to preserve the environment for future generations.

Recycling is the third component of waste hierarchy consisting of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”. Waste hierarchy is a waste management process to extract the optimum benefits from resources while generating minimum amount of waste. Recycling with a series of steps enabled a chain of financial, environmental and social return.

The first step is collecting and processing. This step encapsulates a series of processes including the collection of recyclables that varies from community to community, via four primary methods: curbside, drop-off centers, buy-back centers, and deposit/refund programs. Next, the recyclables are delivered to materials recovery facility for sorting and conditioning into raw materials for manufacturing process.

The second step is manufacturing. The cleaned and sorted recyclables are then prepared for manufacturing into respective merchandises. These includes  common household items such as paper towels, newspapers, plastic, aluminum and glass soft drink containers, steel cans, and plastic laundry detergent bottles.

The final step is purchasing. Consuming the recycled products completes the recycling loop. At whole, the community, government, business people and individuals have the same important role to play in bringing out the greatness in recycling concept. Once these recycled products gain recognition and popularity, the manufacturers will be driven to produce high quality recycled products to meet the public’s demand.

The term recycling is described more precisely as:
Upcycle - converting low-value materials into high-value products (more desirable)
Downcycle – converting valuable products into low-value raw materials (less desirable)

Information adopted from: Wikipedia.org and US EPA

Picture source: Sunrise Packaging blog

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Protect the Orang utan

 Orang utan is classified as endangered animal as its numbers are degrading due to their habitat being destroyed, fragmented and poaching. According to a wildlife study, orang utans need large swaths of forests for them to survive.

The findings by Malaysian, British and Swiss researchers stating that high-quality natural forests are most preferable by the orang utans. To allow the orang utan to disperse naturally, a sufficient network of high-quality natural forest and dispersal corridors must be restored across Borneo and Sumatra.

Our unique wildlife and biodiversity are our natural heritage, and we owe it to ourselves not to deny our future generations these privileges and environmental treasures that we now enjoy. Therefore, Sabah is set to intensify its green effort and bring more value to its conservation efforts in the state.

Sabah had always been proactive in its task to monitor wildlife and to enforce laws against wildlife poachers and killers. For instance, the Ulu Segama - Malua project which covering some 240,000ha of production forest reserves is designated for natural forest management and orang utan conservation.

The Federal Government is also ready to help Sabah in its conservation of orang utan by financially assisting the state to acquire land between areas planted with oil palm. According to the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, the one of the way to help this conservation is by buying parcels of land, largely owned by oil palm plantations, to be used as forest corridors.

Meanwhile, the 35 year State Species Action Plans for the orang utan, elephant and rhinoceros has been launched in Sabah as a platform for better protecton of the 3 flagship species. State government and the plantation industry will collaborate in implementing these Species Action Plans. The plans are part of the nation's continued commitment towards conservation and continuation of its unique flora and fauna.

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Sabah to study manhandling of fauna in conservation area by visitors

KOTA KINABALU: Photographs of various marine wildlife including turtles and giant clams being manhandled by visitors at what appears to be the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park near here are prompting a review of procedures in the conservation area.

 

Among the measures to be implemented are the posting of more signs warning visitors against such action, said state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said an investigation was also under way to verify the authenticity of the pictures posted on Facebook.

“Obviously we are taking this seriously but we also have to verify whether it was indeed at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and if so, whether these were locals or foreigners.

“If they were foreigners, they would have likely been brought to the islands by tour agents, who we will track down,” he said yesterday.

He added that Sabah Parks, which is responsible for the marine park, would blacklist tour agents whose clients continued to flout the regulations.

Masidi said the ministry needed the help of licensed tour guides to inform it of illegal tour operators bringing visitors to the islands.

Sabah Tour Guides Association member David Tseu had claimed that marine park visitors who had taken pictures of themselves holding turtles and giant clams were brought there by unlicensed tour operators.

He claimed that the illegal operators were operating “rampantly” and that the authorities did not appear to have the resources to crack down on them.

Recently, Netizens reacted in anger over a photo of tourists posing with a turtle.

The photo, uploaded by wildlife conservation group Rimba, showed three people with their hands on the turtle's shell while they posed in the water, allegedly in the Perhentian Islands, off Terengganu.

A 34-second video of the incident was also uploaded.

Source: The Star

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The gift of light

SARAWAK may be rich with natural resources like petroleum and LNG, not to mention the cheapest electricity in the region, but 33 per cent of rural Sarawak remains without electricity coverage.
Until July this year, the 19 and 40 household villages of Long Kerabangan and Long Tanid in the Lawas Highlands were part of that statistic, depending solely on diesel gen-sets, kerosene lamps and candles to get by.

Thanks to the efforts of Barefoot Mercy, however, these villages now enjoy 24-hour electricity from modest yet effective 10kW micro-hydro systems provided by the local NGO.

UPHILL JOB: A villager carrying equipment up the hill.

Barefoot Mercy
The lack of electrification or access to basic amenities for those in the rural areas became a rallying cry for the founders and volunteers of the year-old Barefoot Mercy.

MODEST BUT EFFECTIVE: Part of Barefoot Mercy’s contributions in their rural electrification projects are pipes, cables and turbines like the one pictured here.

“A few of us were discussing how we were in the land of plenty and yet there were people who had no electricity, no clean pipe water or connectivity,” said Anna Wee, one of the NGO’s founding members.
Barefoot Mercy came about as a result of this discussion, the name symbolising the plight of those who are living without basic amenities and access to quality living.

It is an apolitical, local NGO that seeks to address these iniquities by providing access to these basic, yet very essential amenities.

“We want to make some impact for the marginalised and underserved,” Wee said, describing Barefoot Mercy as a citizen’s initiative, where its members come together and contribute their individual and specialised skills to the betterment of the quality of life for rural indigenous communities in Sarawak.
Wee says that the organisation has five core members, with others contributing their time, skills an resources on an ad hoc basis.

Their initial efforts were simple; supplying villages with water tanks so that they would have access to water during the dry season when day-to-day water sources like the river or rainwater may run low.
With funds raised from brunch events in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur last year, they purchased water tanks with the proceeds for longhouses in Kanowit and other areas which still lacked piped water supply.
Later, Barefoot Mercy would learn of micro-hydro systems, which were already being applied in Sabah to great success.

Their next project, ‘Adopt-A-Village’ which carries out rural electrification projects was born, its first participants being the villages of Long Kerabangan and Long Tanid, 100 km out of Lawas town.
“Due to the limited availability of diesel, only the tua kampong has a diesel generator, while everybody else depends on kerosene lamps and candles,” Wee said.

“It’s so sad how the ones with the least financial resources have to pay the most for basic necessities.”
She added that the lack of electricity constrained the ability of the community to harvest viable and sustainable economic activities.

The benefits of electrification, she said, would enable them to expand their sources of income.
“With refrigeration, all meat can be frozen, allowing them to transport it to Lawas where they can fetch good prices.”

Wee envisions other cottage industries that can emerge once villages are hooked up to electricity, besides communications and connectivity.

HARD WORK: The villagers and a Barefoot Mercy volunteer carrying out the installation.

No easy task
Fund-raising began in February, with the projects being mobilised by April and completed by July.
Being remotely located over rough terrain, the villages are further isolated by lack of good infrastructure like roads and telecommunication.

“The piping and cables had to be brought in from KK,” Wee said, adding that the other part of the journey into Long Kerabangan takes five hours by unsurfaced logging roads from Lawas, a trip that requires 4WD vehicles.

Their remote locations make the micro-hydro system the most appropriate answer for the job.
Besides having a minimal impact on the environment, all the system needs is a water source with a vertical drop, and a lot of heart.

While Barefoot Mercy provides the pipes, cables and turbines, putting up timber electric poles and the installation is essentially carried out by the villagers themselves, a process which sees them carrying a 10kW generator over streams and up hills before they arrive at the water source.

“There’s even pictures of them throwing the pipes up the hill,” Wee says with a laugh. But all this effort goes into one very important element: ownership.

“They come to us, they apply, and while our technical partners from West Malaysia will come to assess how to implement the micro-hydro free of charge, we do not encourage a handout mentality,” she said, emphasising how important it was to the success of their project for the villagers to take responsibility of their micro-hydro system.

Prior to installation, village heads must sign contracts that define conditions for use and maintenance.
Once the systems are handed over, Barefoot Mercy’s technicians – all volunteers – train them how operate and maintain the system.

LIGHT IT UP: Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian officiating at Long Kerabang’s lighting-up ceremony.

More fund-raising
So long as there are villages without electricity, Barefoot Mercy will be keeping their rural electrification programme going.

This Sunday, Aug 26, Barefoot Mercy will be holding a charity dinner at the Pullman Kuching Hotel.
Indicinelive!, a sketch-comedy revue by Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) will be performing at the charity dinner, with proceeds from the evening being channelled towards Barefoot Mercy’s Adopt-A-Village electrification projects.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/08/21/the-gift-of-light/#ixzz25OBqdRoh

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From park life to rainforests Trusted article source icon

SWAPPING the familiarity of a park in Hull with the Borneo rainforest seems a daunting mission.
The streets of Hull are a far cry from the palm oil plantations of the third largest island in the world.
But for one East Park ranger Malaysian Borneo will become home for 12 months.

Emma Shilling is travelling to Indonesia with her friend Alice Young to teach English and other subjects to children who do not have access to proper education.

The pair, both of Pearson Park, west Hull, who met at university nine years ago, are giving up their careers to fulfil a "lifelong dream".

Emma, 27, said: "I have been wanting to take park in a project in a third world country for a long time.
"The opportunity to make a real difference to children's lives is something neither me nor Alice wanted to turn down."

"I have been travelling a number of times but have never taken on a project like this before so it is really exciting. I can't wait to get started."

Alice has given up her job as a vaccine account manager at a pharmaceutical company in Hull to accompany Emma.

"I have always wanted to do something like this," said the 27-year-old.

"I don't want to look back on my life when I am older and regret missing out on a trip of a lifetime that could offer such great experience.

"The exciting thing about this trip is we will be completely immersed in a single community which is something I have never experienced."

The Leeds University graduates have been asked to take part in the project by volunteer opportunities agency Ecoteer and fly to Borneo via Kuala Lumpur on October 5.

As qualified Teaching English as a Foreign Language teachers they will be working the Borneo Child Aids Society (BCAS).

They will be living in Sabah and teaching English, maths, science, art and environmental studies to children aged 5 to 19 years old who are not entitled to government education.

Ecoteer, which works with one of the 122 BCAS Palm Oil plantation schools, have also asked Emma and Alice to expand to more sites.

They will be the first English volunteer teachers at an oil plantation near Lahad Datu and over the course of the year will be seeking more English speaking volunteers to join them.

Now, they are appealing for support from local companies to provide teaching materials.

Source: This is Hull and East riding

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