Volunteers picking up rubbish found at Tanjung Piai national park in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
The state government’s Clean Johor programme is making a positive impact on the environment by keeping areas litter-free and enhancing people’s quality of life.
Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) Johor director Cairul Hisham Jalaluddin said the state hoped to get the support and involvement of every agency and local council not only to maintain a clean environment but also to ensure the safety of stakeholders throughout Johor.
This ongoing project stemmed from the 100 Days Clean Johor campaign was launched simultaneously in every district and local council on July 2 by Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Youths from Johor Southern Volunteers cleaning up drains as part of the Clean Johor campaign.
Cairul said the initiative aimed to create clean cities and towns after seeing Muar Municipal Council get the Asean Clean Tourist City Standard Award again in January this year.
“If Muar can be recognised on an international level, other districts in Johor are also capable of achieving it as well and this is the reason the programme is being implemented.
“The Clean Johor programme also continues beyond the initial 100-day period so all local authorities need to keep the momentum going,” he added.
The areas involved, he said, were evaluated on various aspects including public facilities, landscape maintenance, cleanliness and infrastructure maintenance such as drainage and roads as well as plogging activities.
Cairul says the initiative was meant to create a clean environment at major cities and towns.
Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter, which has been gaining popularity among the people.
Cairul added that the campaign was not just the responsibility of local councils but also agencies such as Drainage and Irrigation Department and Public Works Department.
Agencies that evaluated the effectiveness of the programme, he said, were Johor Mentri Besar Office, SWCorp, state local government and housing committee chairman office and State Secretary Office.
He added that the evaluation would take place until Dec 15 and the state government would then present RM1mil worth of grants to agencies that successfully met expectations.
“Until October this year, Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) collected the highest amount of solid waste in Johor with 246,300 tonnes as the area it covers consists of many commercial and industrial areas,” he said.
He said the programme needed the involvement of all 16 local councils, government agencies, private bodies including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and most importantly, the community.
Various activities and programmes were held under the Clean Johor initiative, including gotong-royong in every zone under the local councils.
Volunteers picking up litter along the streets of Kulai.
He said SWCorp had forged a good relationship with communities and NGOs to achieve its objective of creating a clean environment.
“We will carry out engagement activities and raise awareness through education from time to time.
“Seminars and campaigns will be held, starting from kindergarten level right up to tertiary level to increase awareness of the importance of keeping the environment clean,” Cairul said, adding that SWCorp Johor carried out an average of 200 engagement programmes on a yearly basis.
He said public programmes such as Trash-to-Cash, throwing rubbish into bins and reducing use of plastic campaigns invited everyone to make Clean Johor more successful.
Volunteers cleaning up an alley in Kulai for the Clean Johor campaign.
“Trash to cash is among our successful programmes, where we encourage people to separate and recycle their waste.
“We collect 130 tonnes of recyclable items daily and the figure is on an upward trend, which means that less rubbish is headed to landfills now.
“This will make cleanliness a culture among the locals here and make Johor a clean and beautiful state,” he added.
The Trash-to-Cash initiative allows households to either trade-in or sell recyclable and used goods.
Cairul said such programmes have received positive feedback from the public, who in turn, was now more aware of littering and would keep the trash they found and dispose of it in the rubbish bins provided.
