MORE than five tonnes of recyclables were collected through Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) recycle-and-redeem campaign involving about 1,500 participants.
Held in phases at selected morning markets, the campaign saw participants receiving RM34,000 worth of reward coupons in phase one and RM18,000 in phase two.
The trade was 500g of recyclables for RM30 in coupons which could be redeemed for daily necessities from participating market traders.
The campaign was held at markets in Taman Medan, SS2 and Section 3, Kota Damansara.
“This programme is funded through the MBPJ Plastic Bag Fee Collection Programme Trust Fund,” said Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohd Yazid Sairi during an event at Pasar Tani Section 3, Kota Damansara.
“Proceeds from plastic bag charges are channelled into community-level action, from reducing the use of single-use plastics to encouraging waste segregation and recycling, while also supporting local traders.”
He said the city council had collected about RM6.9mil in plastic bag charges since the policy was introduced in 2020.
Of this amount, he said 40% was channelled into the special trust fund, while the remaining went to the state government.
“Part of the trust fund has been used for community programmes to manage, preserve and conserve the environment.
“To date, about RM1.2mil has been spent on 14 initiatives covering recycling, education and awareness campaigns,” added Mohd Yazid.
