Recycling bins abused by apathy

THEY come in bright and distinct colours. Purple, yellow, blue -- well you get the picture.

What is even more obvious about these recycling bins is that they have been designated for a specific purpose.

One bin, for instance, is clearly marked for plastic material only.

A bin next to it has an unmistakable logo -- for papers only; while a third bin has been marked for metal.

And these bins are placed in conspicuous places, whether in a shopping mall or even in popular spots such as Gurney Drive.

But take a peek inside these bins and you will be surprised by what you find inside. Or maybe not.

Instead of finding items meant for the individual bins, you see all kinds of rubbish inside. Tissue paper, straws and what not, mix with plastic and metal.

In an extreme case, I even found a plastic bag with durian skin in a bin meant for recyclable plastic items in Gurney Drive.

The sight of that would have left any right-minded Malaysian rolling their eyes and annoyed.

Green initiatives have been practised for some time now. For instance, ICI Dulux (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd had, four years ago, placed 500 recycling bins along the famous promenade here, with bins between every 100 steps for solid waste such as paint cans.

The aim is simple: to raise public awareness in conjunction with the 3R (recycle, reuse, reduce) programme, especially on disposing of empty paint cans.

Gurney Plaza has been espousing the green message as well, having implemented a recycling programme where dedicated bins are provided for paper, plastic and metal.

But in spite of all these, it appears that some people have no qualm whatsoever, and choose to ignore the symbols clearly indicated on the bins.

It would certainly do no harm to take a moment to read the signs on the bin, instead of throwing your rubbish in without a second look.

Imagine the kind of trouble the cleaners or the garbage collectors have to separate the recyclables from the non-recyclables just because some people are not bothered to differentiate the bins.

This kind of trouble is unnecessary. So stop and read. Throw your rubbish in the trash bin and the recyclable ones in the designated recycle bins.

This will make everyone's life easier.