IPOH: It’s a faulty refrigerator that any homeowner would be glad to discard.
But for 80-year-old Victor Chew, he sees “useless” and unwanted electrical and electronic appliances in a different light.
“A refrigerator, for instance, has a motor, copper tubes, a compressor, aluminium coils, cooling fans and other metal parts that we can strip and recycle.”
“We encourage people not to throw away their unwanted electrical or electronic appliances so that these items do not end up in landfills,” he said.
Chew, who appears a lot younger than his actual age, got involved in recycling in 2019 while volunteering with Persatuan Rejuvinasi Pemikiran Masyarakat, the precursor to Koperasi Rejuvinasi Malaysia Bhd (Korem).
These days, he and his team members dedicate much of their time to Korem.
As chairman, Chew said the cooperative’s main aim was to encourage the public to recycle and protect the environment.
“Apart from our operations at the centre, we also give talks at residential areas and schools to encourage waste separation.
“Whenever we give talks, people seem so enthusiastic, but later their interest tapers off,” he said, sighing.
Chew said Korem’s hope was that more people would do their part in helping to protect the environment.
“We are happy to be working with some schools that would give us their unwanted appliances or recyclable materials, which we would sell and give them back some part of the earnings.”
Recounting his earlier experiences with the NGO before Korem began, Chew said the organisation’s aim back then was to serve the community in Pasir Puteh and Pasir Pinji.
“We gave English tuition classes for adults. We then decided to do a food distribution programme because we came across many homeless and poor folks,” he said.
To raise funds for the distribution programme, Chew said that the NGO collected recyclables to get money.
“That’s how we got into recycling,” he recalled.
Eventually, Chew said Korem was formed in 2023 and run as a cooperative.
He said as a cooperative, members would get dividends whenever they managed to get some earnings.
“We have about 100 members who put in shares. We use the money as our capital to run daily operations. We are almost breaking even, after paying our rental, bills and other stuff,” he said.
The cooperative, he said, relies mostly on volunteers to clean, sort and pack recyclable materials.
Located on Jalan Pasir Pinji, the cooperative opens daily except Mondays.
It often gets people coming in to send recyclable items to them.
“We accept various items, including fans, shower heaters, speakers, and air-conditioning units.
“We also accept cardboard, pre-loved clothing, books, plastic bottles and aluminium cans, for which we pay a fair price,” he said.
“We are willing to pay people a fair amount for them.”
