By Michelle Ng
With the recent climate change we have been experiencing, we need to be concerned about the state of our planet, and most importantly, how we are treating planet Earth and every living being here.
As your State Assemblywoman, we have embarked on several sustainability initiatives in Subang Jaya.
First, in 2020, we have introduced an at-source recycling programme – where recyclables are collected from residents’ doorsteps instead of having to bring the recyclables to a recycling centre. Every household in areas that are partaking in this recycling programme was given three different-coloured reusable and washable bags for waste separation, and residents would then place the recycling bags on the lamp post or at the gate on the scheduled day for the contractors to collect. This initiative makes recycling more accessible, thus increasing buy-in. Since initiating this programme, 147,646kgs of rubbish have been removed from the landfill. This is significant as landfills are one of the largest contributors to carbon emission and greenhouse gases – which correspondingly hastens climate change.
Secondly, in the beginning of 2022, an on-demand bus hailing programme with Kumpool was launched, and Subang Jaya was the first to initiate such a system in Selangor. This system is a hybrid between a traditional bus line and an e-hailing service which uses technology to allow booking, tracking, interaction with service providers and utilises algorithms to maximise each route. As it mirrors a public transport system, users are still required to make their way to a virtual bus stop, but that also means that we have sufficient capacity to keep the prices low. Presently, each ride only costs the user RM1. Since its inception, Kumpool has grown from a ridership of 10 people per day, to up to 300 a day. This implies that Subang Jaya itself is taking off up to 300 cars from the road, hence easing traffic and correspondingly, the parking problem in Subang Jaya. On the sustainability front, reducing the number of cars by having riders share a van also means that carbon emissions are reduced, thereby slowing climate change. There are 200 stops alone in Subang Jaya, if you have not tried, do give them some support and try it out!
Thirdly, together with EcoKnights and Dow Chemical, Subang Jaya is partaking in a shoe upcycling programme – “Old Soles, New Life”. Research and development have found a way to repurpose the soles of our shoes into running tracks and playground mats which brings us back to our main goal, to remove from the landfill and slow the climate change. Shoe rubber has been proven to be much safer than present material use, which is made out of used tires and therefore a lot more carcinogenic. Collection points for used shoes have been placed across Subang Jaya which are, USJ 9 Recycling Centre, Arena MBSJ, Kompleks 3K, Sunway University, Monash University, INTI International College and Taylor’s University. All rubberized shoes with no metal parts, including sports shoes, school shoes, football boots (without metal studs), slippers and sandals are allowed, and the shoes should be dry and clean in general.
These initiatives would not be successful without Subang Jaya residents playing their parts in their own homes. Every small effort counts. Thank you all, for taking the extra mile to live more sustainably.
Lastly, I hope these initiatives will progress to develop Subang Jaya that is self-sustained, and act as long-term solutions that will safeguard the future of Subang Jaya residents. As we continue to move towards a common goal in protecting our planet, may Subang Jaya come together as one family and inspire others to do the same.
