KEEP MALAYSIA BEAUTIFUL

The issues of pollution and the state of the environment have become worldwide concerns. Every time we turn on TV or read the newspaper we are treated to the latest environmental disaster. Issues like water pollution, the Greenhouse Effect, ozone depletion and acid rain are discussed in every corner of the globe. This new awareness brings hope for the future. We need to work together to keep our planet clean and free of toxic wastes. Remember, earth is our only home.

So let us start reduce, reuse, recycle and recovery.


Reduction & Reuse

Waste prevention, also known as "source reduction," is the practice of designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials (such as products and packaging) in ways that reduce the amount or toxicity of trash created. Reusing items is another way to stop waste at the source because it delays or avoids that item's entry in the waste collection and disposal system.

Source reduction, including reuse, can help reduce waste disposal and handling costs, because it avoids the costs of recycling, municipal composting, landfilling, and combustion. Source reduction also conserves resources and reduces pollution, including greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Benefits of Reduction & Reuse

• Saves natural resources. Waste is not just created when consumers throw items away. Throughout the life cycle of a product from extraction of raw materials to transportation to processing and manufacturing facilities to manufacture and use waste is generated. Reusing items or making them with less material decreases waste dramatically. Ultimately, less materials will need to be recycled or sent to landfills or waste combustion facilities.

• Reduces toxicity of waste. Selecting nonhazardous or less hazardous items is another important component of source reduction. Using less hazardous alternatives for certain items (e.g., cleaning products and pesticides), sharing products that contain hazardous chemicals instead of throwing out leftovers, reading label directions carefully, and using the smallest amount necessary are ways to reduce waste toxicity.

• Reduces costs. The benefits of preventing waste go beyond reducing reliance on other forms of waste disposal. Preventing waste also can mean economic savings for communities, businesses, schools, and individual consumers.

Recycling

Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources. Collecting used bottles, cans, and newspapers and taking them to the curb or to a collection facility is just the first in a series of steps that generates a host of financial, environmental, and social returns. Some of these benefits accrue locally as well as globally.
Benefits of Recycling :

• Recycling protects and expands U.S. manufacturing jobs and increases U.S. competitiveness.
• Recycling reduces the need for landfilling and incineration.
• Recycling prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from virgin materials.
• Recycling saves energy.
• Recycling decreases emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change. Recycling conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals.
• Recycling helps sustain the environment for future generations.

Recovery

Recovery is defined as any waste management operation that diverts a waste material from the waste stream and which results in a certain product with a potential economic or ecological benefit.

There are many environmental and economic benefits to be gained from recovery, recycling and reclamation efforts worldwide. The major benefits include:

• Minimized atmospheric emissions and reduced environmental impact;
• Expanded market opportunity for used refrigerant;
• Reduced environmental compliance costs;
• Reduced need for new refrigerant; and
• Increased lifetime of refrigeration equipment due to contaminant removal;