Kuching is being Swamped by Waste

Kuching is being Swamped by Waste

Malaysians, or most of them at any rate, are notorious wastrels. In case you still harbor doubts about the truth of this, here is a shocking fact: in Kuching, Sarawak, residents degerate 800 grams of waste on average every single day. That level of wastage amounts to 690,000kg of waste…

Let’s make Chinese New Year Greener: Say No to Shark Fins

Let’s make Chinese New Year Greener: Say No to Shark Fins

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and lots of Malaysians are gearing up for the days-long festivities. The festive spirit of New Year will pay homage to the idea of renewal, yet sadly some time-honored old practices are bound to persist across Malaysia. Take the use of disposable…

Going to Jail for Using Plastic Bags?

Going to Jail for Using Plastic Bags?

Plastic bags. They are ubiquitous, aren’t they? They can be so convenient too. We’ve all been using them. Imagine, though, if you could be sent to jail for doing so. In the African nation of Kenya, people can now be jailed for using plastic bags. The country’s highest court has…

Declaring ‘War’ on Polluters in Sarawak

Declaring ‘War’ on Polluters in Sarawak

Sarawak has long been beset by pollution. What to do? Clamp down harder on polluters. Or “declare war” on them, if you will. That’s according to he Bornean state’s Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “We need to declare war on irresponsible polluters,” stresses Lee Kim Shin. “We need to…

Let Hong Kong’s Trash Woes be a Warning

Let Hong Kong’s Trash Woes be a Warning

If you want a cautionary example of wasteful human activities run amok, look no further than Hong Kong. It’s not that residents of the Chinese territory are more wasteful than others in the developed world; rather, it’s that they have run out of space to store their trash. One of…

Going all Biodegradable in Sabah

Going all Biodegradable in Sabah

Sabah is known for a number of things: its world-renowned biodiversity, its stunningly beautiful landscapes, its diving havens of marine beauty … and its rampant plastic waste. Despite frequent educational campaigns, locals continue littering with wanton abandon. Most of these campaigns, well-intentioned as they have been, have failed to make…

Let’s Stop Littering Once and for All

Let’s Stop Littering Once and for All

Malaysians are notorious litterbugs. Not all of them, to be sure, but enough of them to have made the country’s roads and streets into trash-strewn eyesores. Beaches, parks, forest trails and mountain passes have not escaped the blight of habitual littering, either. The question is why? The answer: bad habits…

Littering and Waste are Threats to our Health and our Environment

Littering and Waste are Threats to our Health and our Environment

Rampant littering has long been a problem across Malaysia, in some places reaching endemic proportions. Heaps of trash dumped on streets are not only unsightly; they are dangerous too, posing health hazards to people and threats to the environment. “Littering is a recurring problem that raises serious public health concerns which…