26-05-2025
Pantai Hillpark residents bag nearly 2,900kg of recyclables in three months to win competition
Devakumaran (second from right) receiving the award from Benetello (right). With them are Chew (left) and Rosli. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
COMMUNITY spirit and a commitment to the environment have helped residents of a Kuala Lumpur strata property emerge as champions in a recycling competition.
Pantai Hillpark Phase 5 residents collected 2,894.6kg of recyclables over three months, earning them the top spot in the Strata Recycling Competition (KL Edition) under the #MyHomeRecycling campaign.
Management corporation (MC) chairman P. Devakumaran credited the residents for their consistent efforts and teamwork.
'We decided to participate in the programme as we noticed that we had a lot of recyclables that were being discarded.
'We joined the programme around September last year and the response has been very good.
'There were some teething issues but we managed to sort these out,' he said during a prize presentation event.
Devakumaran added that the competition was a good way to promote recycling within the community while generating a small income.
He said proceeds from the sale of recyclables were shared between the MC and cleaners.
The competition was organised by Riiicycle Tech Sdn Bhd in collaboration with the non-governmental organisa- tions (NGOs) Malaysian Recycling Alliance (Marea) and GreenWeive.
Supported by SWCorp Wilayah Persekutuan, the contest aims to promote recycling among residents of high-rise and strata properties.
These residents are encouraged to trade in their recyclable items for redeemable vouchers using the Riiicycle app.
Riiicycle founder Chew Chin Huat explained that the competition was designed to encourage awareness by offering incentives to participants.
'We want to turn recycling awareness into action through an infrastructure-knowledge sharing approach.
'In our first phase, we approached strata properties in Kuala Lumpur to participate, and now, we have about 15 properties on board.
'Entering phase two, Riiicycle aims to scale the initiative further by inviting more strata communities and high-rise residential areas to take part in this collective environmental effort.'
He added that top recyclers would be awarded every three months.
Between January and April, a total of 25,838.66kg of recyclables were collected from the city's high-rise residents.
Marea chief executive officer Roberto Benetello emphasised the NGO's role in driving the transition toward a recycling ecosystem by promoting circular economy practices and supporting the adoption of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
'With EPR, the responsibility for managing packaging waste falls on the companies.
'This approach not only helps protect the environment but also supports the development of a circular economy.
'Recycled packaging is transformed into secondary products, which helps reduce the need for raw materials,' he said.
Benetello added the goal was to keep raw materials in circulation for as long as possible as a way of minimising waste and promoting more sustainable consumption patterns.
A prize presentation ceremony was held to award participants as well as recipients of a lucky draw.
Cash prizes totalling RM3,500 were awarded during the ceremony.
Also present were Lembah Pantai Federal Territories Residents Representative Council (MPPWP) sub-zone 3 chairman Rosli Ishak and representatives from SWCorp.
