A collaboration between Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) and social enterprise What A Waste (WAW), the total food collected from USJ4 was 159kg, USJ7 (62kg), SS19 (31kg), Puchong Prima (109kg) and Bandar Kinrara 5 (138kg).
It was distributed to 108 B40 families within MBSJ’s jurisdiction.
The city council’s Corporate and Strategic Management Department said in a media statement that the USJ4 site (at Jalan USJ4/5) with 140 lots, was one of the biggest and most popular Ramadan bazaars in Subang Jaya.
“There are 20 Ramadan bazaar sites with 1,207 lots offered this year,” it said.
A walkabout was held as part of efforts to monitor compliance in licensing, food safety, hygiene, cleanliness and stall management, as well as ensure trade was being carried out in an orderly and safe manner.
Present were Subang Jaya deputy mayor Mohd Zulkurnain Che Ali, Selangor youth, sports and entrepreneurship committee chairman Mohd Najwan Halimi, Subang Jaya assemblyman Michelle Ng and MBSJ councillors Chia Yew Ken, Christopher Elvin Joseph and Zulfadzlee Shah Shaharuddin.
As part of its integrated waste management approach, MBSJ also continued its used cooking oil collection campaign at six locations offering RM2.50 per kg with 352.36kg collected as at Feb 28.
Food coupons worth RM5 each were also given out to the first 200 bazaar visitors who brought their own food containers.
Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated (MBI Selangor) via Selangor Platform (PLATS) distributed digital coupons worth RM10 to the first 300 visitors.
Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd (Agrobank) sponsored a free 2.4m x 2.4m tent for each trader and also promoted cashless payment.
WAW chief corporate officer Alvin Chen said diverting surplus food from landfills reduces greenhouse gases and the burden on urban waste management systems.
“Based on the global average estimate that 1kg of food waste can produce approximately 2.5kg of CO2 due to decomposition in landfills, the total of 499kg of food saved is equivalent to about 1,250 CO2 prevented or about 1.25 metric tonnes of carbon emissions avoided.
“This initiative also provides savings by reducing the need to collect, transport and dispose of food waste,” said Chen.
WAW’s yearly collaboration with MBSJ aims to educate bazaar traders and visitors on the importance of managing stock prudently, reducing food waste, bringing your own containers (BYOC), prioritising environmental sustainability and sharing with those in need.
