Community initiative offers rice in exchange for used glass bottles

By Olivia Miwil

olivia@nst.com.my

November 22, 2020 @ 5:26pm

PENAMPANG: People are travelling as far as from Kudat to get rid of their used glass bottles, either for proper waste management or in exchange of bags of rice from Kampung Madsiang here. 

According to volunteer Juddy Lasius, the initiative to recycle glass bottles was the brainchild of former Moyog assemblyman, Jennifer Lasimbang, after a community leader was injured by broken glass during a gotong royong.

"This programme, which began in February, is to stop people from throwing bottles into the river or drain.

"We are working with Ripple-Sabah Recycling Association on turning the waste into sand with the use of a glass crushing machine here," she said.

20kg of intact glass bottles could be exchanged for a 10kg bag of rice.

Juddy, who is also a member of Ripple, added that the people could send their bottles to Dewan Gawir Kampung Madsiang here every Sunday between 9am to 2pm.

Apart from crushing the bottles into sand that could be mixed with cement, she also collects jars to be redistributed to local communities or upcycle it into candle jars.

"An empty jar would cost around RM4.50, which is quite expensive for small traders from the villages to sell their sambal or pickles.

"Therefore, we also ask them to come here for the jars and give any amount they want," she said, adding they are hoping for more donations from the public and government for the rice and more crushing machines to sustain the programme.

Apart from waste management, Juddy said there are family members in the district who deliberately collect glass during the movement control order to exchange for rice.

Joyce Lau from Luyang near here, deliberately sent 29kg of glass bottles for environmental purposes.

"It has been our lifestyle recycling papers and plastics. There are neither many centres, nor any local council which accepts glass here.

"We are glad that there is a place for us to discard glass safely."

Two other donors, Moinie Jokilim, 58, and Justina Jackson, 57, travelled from other Putatan areas to exchange three bags of rice for 60kg of bottles.

"A relative told us about this and we started to get bottles among our family members. If only we know there is such an initiative earlier, we would not have discarded the hundreds of bottles that we had before this."