It has taken a proactive stance in continuing its efforts in cultivating the 3R practices with communities through its annual ‘Waste is Amazing’ event

by SHAFIQQUL ALIFF / pic courtesy of Alam Flora

ALAM Flora Sdn Bhd has been receiving more than 40,000 tonnes of waste production since the Movement Control Order was implemented in May this year as everyone had been stuck at home.

Its CEO Datuk Mohd Zain Hassan said they received more plastics and cardboard food containers from delivery and takeaways as dine-ins were not allowed throughout the lockdown.

He said they received approximately 2,500 tonnes of waste daily in Kuala Lumpur with the majority being single-use plastic from food packaging.

“This confirmed that there are still many restaurants that are not using biodegradable plastic which can easily decompose.

“Following this, we are set to aggressively reduce waste production by 1,000 tonne per month by next year,” said Mohd Zain.

In the meantime, Alam Flora has taken a proactive stance in continuing its efforts in cultivating the 3R — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — practices with communities through its annual “Waste is Amazing” event, a fashion designing competition using recyclable materials which took place on Saturday.

Entering its ninth year, with the theme “Paper Couture”, this unique fashion competition saw 20 amateur designers from various backgrounds pitting their unconventional creative designs on recycling virtually, for the second year around.

Mohd Zain added that amid the various restrictions due to the Covid-19 crisis, the competition received favourable responses with more than 100 entries from all over Malaysia for this year.

He said this clearly showed that creativity knows no boundaries and that acceptance towards the recycling culture is growing stronger especially with the younger generation.

“The selection of paper as the main material in this year’s fashion design competition is indeed appropriate, as a study done by the National Solid Waste Management Department has shown that paper is the third-largest contributor of waste in the country, after food waste and plastic.

“It also augurs well with the government’s aspiration to reduce 40% of the recyclable waste from being sent to landfills by 2025,” Mohd Zain said.

He added that to help achieve this, Alam Flora has intensified its efforts of going beyond waste management by helping to cultivate a recycling culture among Malaysians.

“‘Waste is Amazing’ is one of those initiatives, so we can now look at waste from a positive and creative perspective,” he said.