Greener Alternatives to Wet Wipes

PENCINTA ALAM JULY 2015

GREEN LIVING COLUMN

GREENER ALTERNATIVES TO WET WIPES

By Wong Ee Lynn

<wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com>

 

Disposable, single-use wet wipes are so convenient and ubiquitous that most people find them hard to give up, especially when travelling or after outdoor adventures that leaves one covered in dirt that has to be removed before one can enter a vehicle or building. However, the Marine Conservation Society reported in 2014 that wet wipes flushed down toilets resulted in clogged sewers and an increase in beach and river litter. Also, wet wipes, including those marketed as 'flushable', are wasteful and polluting, as are most disposable items that are not reusable or recyclable.

 

Here are some ideas on how to reduce (or completely give up!) the use of disposable wet wipes, how to make your own reusable wipes and how to make less wasteful baby wipes:

 

GREENER ALTERNATIVES TO DISPOSABLE WIPES:

1. Stop purchasing and using disposable floor-cleaning wipes and kitchen or bathroom wipes. Cloth and microfibre cleaning cloths, cleaning rags and washable microfibre mopping pads are durable, inexpensive, reusable and much kinder to Mother Earth. Use them together with non-toxic biodegradable cleaning solutions such as white vinegar, castille soap, Murphy oil soap or any liquid organic cleaning agent. When the cleaning cloths are dirty, give them a little scrub in the bathroom or kitchen sink and dump them into the washing machine, where they will take up hardly any space in a full load of laundry. If you are travelling, cut up a few pieces of rags out of old t-shirts or towels and bring a little bottle of cleaning solution with you. Even in a campsite or budget hotel, you will be able to dampen the rag with a little water and cleaning solution and clean up after yourself. Throw the rag away if you really can't rewash and reuse it.

2. Instead of buying facial wipes or makeup remover wipes, use olive oil or any gentle facial wash solution to clean your face with water. Pat your face dry with a towel or piece of flannel. Although some may argue that this method uses water, manufacturing, packaging and transporting makeup remover wet wipes uses a lot more water, fuel and resources! Also, you should use a basin while washing your face and turn off the tap when you are soaping and scrubbing, so you won't need to use more water than is necessary. When travelling, pack a little makeup remover in a small tube, jar or spritz bottle and put it in an airline-approved resealable waterproof pouch to get it past flight safety checks.

3. Ditch antibacterial wipes altogether. The excessive use of disinfectants and antibacterial agents can contribute to the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and lead to antibiotics becoming less effective. Soap and water is good enough a cleaning agent.

4. Wipe down dirty outdoor clothes and shoes with a rag before putting the said clothes into a bag to bring home for washing.

 

MAKE YOUR OWN TRAVEL WET WIPES:

1.  Keep a few microfibre or terrycloth handkerchiefs or face towels in your backpack, car or entryway of your house. Prior to messy activities and trips, fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of tea tree (antifungal and antibacterial), citronella (mosquito repellent), lavender (antibacterial) or peppermint (calming and deodorising) essential oil. You might want to refrigerate the spray bottle or add a few ice cubes to the spray before taking it along with you for a trip or activity. To clean up, spritz the mixture of water and essential oils onto the abovementioned face towels and clean yourself up with it. Put the dirty face towels into a plastic bag or carry-all to bring home for washing.

2. Alternatively, pre-dampen or soak the handkerchiefs or terrycloth face towels in a solution of water and essential oils. Put them into a freezable watertight/airtight container and freeze or refrigerate them overnight. Take the container of chilled cleaning cloths with you along on your trip or activity and hand one to each participant to clean themselves up with. Bring the container and dirty/used cloths home in a bag for washing.

 

MAKE YOUR OWN BABY WIPES:

1. The best alternative to disposable baby wipes is always to wash with water and a mild baby soap, and pat your baby's bottom dry with a towel or soft cloth.

2. The second best alternative (because it requires a little more washing) is to use old unbleached cotton diapers as washable wipes. Mix a solution of one part baby shampoo and 3-4 parts water in a spray bottle. Moisten the cotton diaper with the spray solution and use it during diaper changes.

3. If travelling or if  you have no other choice but to use disposables (e.g. in the event of illness and infections), make your own disposable baby wipes using compostable/biodegradable paper kitchen towels. Buy thick, good

quality paper kitchen towels that will not tear easily. Cut the roll in half, width-wise, using a sharp knife. For every half-roll of kitchen towels, you will need:

- 1 cup of water;

- 1 tablespoon of mild, preferably organic, baby soap or shampoo; and

- 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of olive oil or baby oil, preferably plant-based and organic.

Mix the liquid ingredients together.

Put the paper towels in an airtight, watertight container (e.g. an old baby wipes bin, perhaps?) and pour half the mixed liquid over the paper towels. Let the mixture soak through for approximately 10 minutes. Turn the roll of paper towels upside down, pour the remaining half of the solution over the paper towels and allow it to sit for another 10 minutes.

Pull out the centre cardboard core and put the lid on the container. Your homemade baby wipes are now ready for use. Ensure that the wipes are disposed of with rubbish instead of flushed down the toilet, where it can clog up the plumbing.

 

FOR QUICK CLEAN-UPS:

For pet waste, spilled paint and other household 'accidents', use a sheet of old newspaper folded over and dampened with a little water. Wet newspaper picks up and is able to absorb a surprising amount of liquid. Use a second sheet of newspaper dampened with water and a little white vinegar or other non-toxic household cleaning solution to clean up the spot. Newspapers are compostable and biodegradable and thus will cause less harm in landfills than bleached, antibacterial and packaged wet wipes.

Activity Report: Ampang Recreational Forest Cleanup Programme

PENCINTA ALAM JUNE 2015

GREEN LIVING SIG ACTIVITY REPORT

EARTH DAY CLEANUP PROGRAMME AT THE AMPANG RECREATIONAL FOREST

By Wong Ee Lynn

The Green Living SIG subcommittee coordinated a cleanup programme at the Ampang Recreational Forest on 25 April 2015 in conjunction with Earth Day to encourage urban dwellers and nature enthusiasts to be stewards of green spaces. The Earth Day weekend was the perfect opportunity to get members of the community involved in cleaning up a popular recreational forest without leaving town. Leave No Trace Malaysia, a local chapter of an international initiative to leave environmentally-sensitive sites litter-free, collaborated with us and made a generous offer to sponsor prizes for a contest we would be organising on that day.

 

Based on our past experiences coordinating and participating in cleanup campaigns, we made the following preparations for the Ampang Recreational Forest Cleanup:

1. Contacted the local authorities (MPAJ) and the Selangor State Forestry Department for permission to organise and hold the said activity; 

2. Purchased or collected rubbish bags, reusable cotton gardening gloves (we washed the ones from previous cleanup campaigns) and sturdy sacks for recyclables or sharp items (we used the large outer sacks of pet food bags);

3. A First Aid Kit and natural mosquito repellent spray for all

4. A large bottle of drinking water for refilling everyone's water bottles with, and bananas and oranges for a waste-free breakfast.

 

To create social media hype for the event and to encourage and reward participants, all participants are eligible to participate in a Facebook photo competition, in which prizes would be given for the following categories:

i. Best Before and After Photo;

ii. Best Cleanup Action Photo

iii. Most Creative Photo;

iv. Funniest Photo;

v. Weirdest Item Found.

 

 

The photo contest and zero-waste breakfast constituted the 'goodies' for our 15 cleanup participants in lieu of wasteful goodie bags and t-shirts, as everyone agreed that the focus should be on protecting the environment and reducing waste.

 

The cleanup session was kicked off after a basic safety briefing and a signature campaign to object to the EKVE and save the Ampang Forest by TREES (Treat Every Environment Special Sdn Bhd). Our plan was to walk to the picnic site first and clean the recreational forest from the inside out, instead of dragging heavy bags of litter into the picnic area and back out again. Dee Lu of Corezone Malaysia joined us at this point and we were grateful for her help in transporting the rubbish out with her pickup truck.

1. Volunteers waded into the stream, went behind scratchy bushes and climbed up hill slopes in order to pick up litter left behind by irresponsible picnickers.

(Photo credits: Eddie Yap)

2. Annieson spotted a sarong in the stream. I hope this doesn't mean that someone went home naked. How could you forget a sarong?

(Photo credits: Annieson Au)

3. Herlinde of Yellow House KL found a bucket in perfect condition, as well as some plastic bags.

 

4. Jon found a TV remote control in the stream. Did someone decide to take their TV along on a picnic?

(Photo credits: Eddie Yap)

5. Our hardworking volunteers removed litter chucked carelessly behind bushes, probably by the local council contractors who do not know any better.

(Photo credits: Yadz Harudin)

 

6. Our youngest participant, Zhang Hui, worked hard at removing cigarette butts and sweet wrappers using her steel tongs.

(Photo credit: Yadz Harudin)

7. Never underestimate the power of small groups of committed and enthusiastic individuals in changing the world for the better!

The most common litter we found were plastic drinking straws, plastic bags, styrofoam picnic ware, disposable diapers and sweet wrappers. This serves as an important lesson to all of us. Items such as straws and wrappers are so light that they are often carried away by wind and rainwater even after we have placed them in rubbish bins. We therefore hope that all MNS members will pledge to do the following, if this is not being done already:

- To stop purchasing, using and accepting plastic drinking straws, Styrofoam packaging, and plastic bags;

- To switch to cloth diapers if you have babies;

- To reduce unnecessary purchases, especially of unnecessary items that come in non-biodegradable packaging, e.g. sweets and junk food.

- To bring your own reusable food containers, cloth shopping bags and refillable water bottles whenever you leave the house.

- To bring rubbish bags along on picnics and nature trails in order that you can clean up after yourselves and others and take your rubbish out with you.

Following this cleanup session, Green Living also intends to contact the local council to discuss the issue of cleaning contractors dumping rubbish into the bushes, and the lack of macaque-proof rubbish bins in a recreational forest overrun by macaques.

 

 

We had to transport all the rubbish out to a nearby apartment complex for proper disposal, and the recyclables were later transported to a recycling centre. The breakfast fruits were duly handed out, and Green Living merchandise (booklets and stickers) distributed to volunteers upon request. 

Green Living would like to thank all the dedicated volunteers who braved the heat, humidity, dirt, mosquitoes and leeches to clean up our little piece of the world. Little things done with great love can and do make a huge difference. 

 

 

 

Eco Kids Column: Strawberry and Pineapple-Inspired Pots

ECO KIDS COLUMN

PENCINTA ALAM JUNE 2015

STRAWBERRY AND PINEAPPLE-INSPIRED POTS

By Wong Ee Lynn

Here is an arts & crafts project that would give your plant pots a makeover, as well as use up the acrylic paints from your Paint-Your-Own Mug/Photo Frame/Fridge Magnet/Piggy Bank kits before the said paints dry up.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Leftover acrylic paints from your arts &crafts DIY kits.

2. Small plant pots (Please wash and dry them thoroughly if they had previously held soil and plants)

3. A paintbrush.

4. Painters' tape, cheap washi tape or any kind of adhesive tape that is not too sticky. 

5. A cotton bud.

6. Pebbles and potting soil.

7. Any small plant with spiky or pointed edges. Succulents, aloe vera plants and spider plants would work very well for this project.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line your work surface with newspaper.

2. Paint the pots white as an undercoat or primer. This is especially important if the pot is dark-coloured. Do not wet or dilute the acrylic paint. Just apply the paint on thickly.

3. Let the undercoat dry completely. Once it is dry, paint one pot bright red and the other pot bright yellow. 

4. Let the paint dry completely. If the pots' original colours can be seen through the paint, you may wish to apply another coat of paint. A second coat of paint would give the pot an opaque, glossy look and make it more attractive.

5. Once the paint is dry, use painters' tape or cheap washi tape to mark out the areas you wish to paint patterns on, to make sure the patters are evenly spaced. If you do not have painters' tape or washi tape, use strips of paper and tape the two ends to the pot. Alternatively, use cellophane tape but stick it to your shirt or some other surface first and peel it off to make it less sticky before applying it to the pot. If the tape you are using is too sticky, it might lift the paint off and cause damage to your masterpiece.

6. Paint strawberry 'seeds' onto the red pot. The seeds should be white or pale yellow in colour. 

7. Paint pineapple 'thorns' onto the yellow pot by making upside down 'v's in bright green.

8. If you find it difficult to control your brush strokes due to the fact that the acrylic paint is too thick sticky, you might wish to use a cotton bud to paint the seeds and thorns onto the pots instead. 

9. Wait for the paint to dry before removing the tape. Now you have neatly patterned rows on your fruit-themed pots.

10. Fill the bottom of the pots with pebbles or gravel to improve drainage. Top the rest of the pot with potting soil. 

11. Make a small hole in the centre of the soil and put your little plants, root first, into the hole. Fill up the hole and cover the roots of your plant with more soil. Give your plant just a little water so as not to drown the roots. 

12. Have fun with your pineapple and strawberry-inspired plant buddies!

Letter to the Editor: Trading In Coral Reef Products Will Cause Irreparable Harm

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: TRADING IN CORAL REEF PRODUCTS WILL CAUSE IRREPARABLE HARM

 

It is with alarm that Malaysians learned of the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries' plan to increase the export of coral reefs (Bernama News, April 24, 2015). The fact that there is "high interest abroad" for Malaysian coral reef is all the more reason for us to protect our coral reefs against poaching, plundering and destruction. The very suggestion that the Ministry wishes to exploit and trade in our local coral reefs for profit is tantamount to a breach of duty by those tasked with the responsibility of protecting our marine resources.

 

It has often been said that coral reefs are the rainforests of the oceans. Coral reefs cover less than 0.1% of the Earth's surface, yet over 25% of all marine life exists in coral ecosystems. Coral reefs provide a variety of ecosystem services, including as a nursery ground and source of food and shelter to fish and invertebrates. Coral reefs also act as natural wave breakers that protect coasts from wave erosion.

 

From an anthropocentric and economic point of view, coral reefs have more value intact than degraded and destroyed for trade. Scientific estimates put the value of coral reefs at USD115,740 per hectare annually. This means that Malaysia’s coral reefs, with a cover of approximately 4,000 square kilometres, would be valued at RM145 billion per year. Coral reefs form the foundation of a significant percentage of Malaysia’s tourism industry and are a more sustainable source of income for locals if protected and kept intact, than if traded and exported.

 

Properly-managed coral reefs can yield an average of 15 tonnes of fish and other seafood per square kilometre each year. It is estimated that coral reef-related businesses in Malaysia, namely, food, fisheries, tourism and pharmaceuticals, is worth approximately USD365 million annually.

 

A World Resources Institute report in 2012 found that over 85% of the coral reefs in the ‘Coral Triangle’ (which includes Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines) are threatened by both natural phenomena and human activity. This is substantially more than the global average of 60%.

 

According to Reef Check Malaysia, coastal development, destructive fishing practices, overexploitation of resources for fishing, increasing coastal populations, poor land use practices, runoff of pollutants, sediments, disease outbreaks associated with poor water quality and pollutants, coral bleaching associated with rising sea temperatures and the destruction of coastal mangrove forests have caused grave degradation and damage to our coral reefs.

 

Just because Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam control most of the world's coral reef exports does not mean that this is a race Malaysia has to participate in. It would be foolhardy and naive to believe that once trade in coral reefs and organisms is opened up, it could be efficiently and adequately regulated and monitored. Malaysia already has a global reputation as a hub for the illegal wildlife trade. Opening up trade in corals would only reinforce this reputation.

 

With so much effort being poured into protecting coral reefs and banning or restricting the sale of corals by the international conservation community, exporting and trading in corals would only fuel demand, both for legally farmed and illegally harvested corals. DNA markers can only be used to trace where the corals originate from if there is sufficient documented data. This requires a lot of work and research funds. A successful coral farm would first have to be established and a database created for all cultured coral, and all such corals can then be certified farmed and sustainable. However, the question that remains is whether the importers and purchasers care enough to implement such measures and seek certification. This technology is expensive, not easily available and not a legal requirement by most importing and exporting countries. It stands to reason that those in the aquarium trade would not voluntarily opt to have the DNA testing performed. Most of the people in Southeast Asia who harvest corals are the poor in coastal communities who do not have the capital or knowledge to set up a sustainable coral farm, while those who purchase corals from the poor are unlikely to be concerned about sustainability.

 

Like many concerned Malaysians, I would like to know if a feasibility study has been conducted on this coral farming and exporting venture. Coral farming is often a difficult, long and unsuccessful process, and it could take decades before there is any return on investment. The rate of coral growth depends on the species. Even acropora coral, which is recognised to be a fast-growing species, grows at most only one inch a year. Coral breeding has proven unsuccessful in many countries and most corals would not grow on artificial reefs. In order to start a coral farming programme, one still has to break off live coral to use as starters, and this causes damage to existing reefs and marine ecosystems.

 

The claims that coral farming is profitable and sustainable are usually made only by those involved in the coral trade, rarely ever by conservation groups and scientific bodies. It is almost impossible to succeed in the coral trade by coral farming alone, and most traders end up harvesting and poaching corals from the wild to satisfy consumer demand. A significant percentage of the corals used in the aquarium trade are inaccurately passed off as farmed or sustainably harvested.

 

It seems strange that the Malaysian government, which has expressed its fears that foreign researchers would conduct bioprospecting on and patent Malaysia’s natural resources, would want to leave our corals vulnerable to the same by exporting them and opening the doors wide to bioprospectors. There is a very real risk that once our corals are freely traded and available all over the world, bioprospectors would develop and commercialise products based on our corals and we would lose the intellectual property rights to the same.

 

Enforcement-wise, the weak knowledge of our customs officers of corals and the lack of political will means that regulation and enforcement exists only on paper. There are too many loopholes in our laws, and based on observation of the current state of Malaysian coral reefs and the wildlife trade, our customs and enforcement agencies are not prepared for the duty of protecting coral reefs from overharvesting and exploitation.

 

The coral reef and aquarium trade appears superficially lucrative, but it remains unclear what economic benefit flows to the exporting country. In Fiji, the economic benefits of the coral and aquarium fish trades were limited to a few villages, while the rest of the local fishing community suffered losses due to the decline in fisheries. Mozambique had to finally impose a complete ban on the export of coral and coral fishes in 1999 due to the destruction wreaked on coral reefs, despite the existence of a licensing and enforcement system. Caribbean coral reefs are now in danger of disappearing altogether within the next 20 years due to overfishing, pollution and fish and coral trade and exports.

 

It is not too late for the Malaysian government to reconsider this project, which has unclear beneficiaries and which would lead to irreparable damage to marine ecosystems. Instead of spending RM2.7 million of taxpayers' money on such a dubious venture, the government should instead invest in gazetting more sensitive and biologically-diverse marine areas and improving the current management of reefs and marine parks.

 

 

WONG EE LYNN

COORDINATOR, GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY (MNS)

Event Announcement: MNS Green Living Earth Day Taman Rimba Ampang Cleanup

Come lend Mother Nature a helping hand this Earth Day weekend! Green Living will be organising a cleanup session at Taman Rimba Ampang, a popular picnic site and recreational fores, as a way of honouring Mother Earth, taking back our public spaces and educating picnickers and members of the public on the importance of keeping public and green spaces clean.

Date: Saturday, 25th April 2015

Time: 9.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon

Meeting Point: Entrance of Taman Rimba Ampang 

We will provide:

- Fruits for a waste-free breakfast

- Drinking water for refills (Please bring your own water bottles)

- Mosquito repellent

- Rubbish bags and reusable gloves

- Green Living publications for those who want copies

Please bring:

- Your own drinking water bottles

- Sunblock and any medication

- Fire tongs / rubbish tongs, if you have one

- A phone or camera phone for the Photo Contest

All cleanup participants will be eligible to participate in the Earth Day Cleanup Photo Contest. Photos will be uploaded to the Facebook event page. Prizes will be given for the most highly-rated photos in the following categories:

- Best 'Before & After' Photo

- Most Creative Photo

- Best Cleanup Action Photo

- Funniest Photo 

The Facebook event page is as follows: https://www.facebook.com/events/1426196601026643/

Hope to see you there!

Eco Kids Column: Volunteering Without Leaving Your Home

PENCINTA ALAM MAY 2015

ECO KIDS COLUMN: VOLUNTEERING WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR HOME

By Wong Ee Lynn

(wongeelynn@yahoo.com)

 

The Green Living and Eco Kids team often receives queries from big-hearted people who wish to volunteer for worthy causes but are unable to commit to a regular volunteering schedule. Some of these people are elderly folk, some are busy parents, some live very far from town and some just do not have the time, resources or means of travelling in order to volunteer at a particular place on a regular basis. A great many of these queries come from children who want to be able to do something to help people, animals or the environment.

 

If you are a young person with no income, no driving license and a busy school schedule, here are some suggestions as to how you can still volunteer without leaving your home.

 

1. SET UP A COLLECTION CENTRE FOR E-WASTE AND RECYCLABLES

As you know, there are collection bins for light bulbs, used batteries, old phones and broken electrical appliances outside the front door of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) headquarters in Jalan Kelantan. There are also recycling bins to collect paper, glass, plastic and metal waste at the MNS office as well as in other locations.

Some of these recycling collection centres also collect reusable items such as books, clothes and toys, for charity.

If there are no recycling bins near your home or in your school, ask your parents' permission to set up a small area to collect and store recyclables in your home. It can be a series of boxes, bins or sturdy bags hung on a hook. 

Once your parents have consented to collecting and transporting these items for you, you can inform your friends, neighbours, classmates and relatives about your recycling centre, and encourage them to pass their recyclables to you. You can make flyers and posters to inform others of what they can or cannot hand over for recycling, or you can announce it via social media and phone.

Your job is to keep the recyclables organised and clean. Wash or rinse out all cans and bottles. Keep used batteries in a dry, clean jar in a dark, cool place to reduce the risk of leakage and corrosion. Sort items into their correct categories. 

Once your bags or boxes are full or whenever you or your parents are passing through areas where the recycling and collection bins are located, drop these items off and bring home your empty bags and boxes to be filled up all over again. This way, you prevent a lot of waste from ending up in landfills, and you reduce the need for others to drive. It's a win-win situation for all.    

 

 

2. CLOTHES AND TOILETRIES FOR THE POOR

People often inquire about where they can send old clothes for donation or recycling. Many recycling centres collect old clothes to sell in developing countries, especially in Africa. The money goes to the charities that collect the clothes here in Malaysia. A better option would be to donate the clothes directly to the groups and people that need them the most. Your job is to set up a Used Clothes Collection Centre in the same fashion as the recycling and e-waste collection centre described above. Launder and dry any clothes that do not seem particularly clean, or that smell musty. Sort the clothes into Men's, Womén's and Children's clothes. Set aside anything torn, worn out or badly stained.

Groups such as Need To Feed The Need (NFN) (https://www.facebook.com/ftnbenefit) will accept all clothes for the homeless and urban poor. Groups such as Reach Out Malaysia (https://www.facebook.com/ReachOutMalaysia) and Kechara Soup Kitchen (www.kechara.com/soup-kitchen/) need mostly men's clothes for the homeless in Kuala Lumpur, which comprises mostly men.

Refugee organisations and refugee schools will usually also accept clothes for women and children, so please give them a call to see if they will take your donation.

You can also request your friends and family to bring you unused travel-sized bottles of shampoo and soap from their hotel stays, and once you have enough, you can hand them over to these organisations to distribute to the homeless, who will find these small toiletry items easier to take with them than regular-sized toiletries. This is a good way of putting these toiletries to use, rather than let them clutter up your cabinets.

 

3. TOYS FOR SHELTER ANIMALS

What can you do with the torn, worn out and stained clothing described above? You can make toys for shelter animals using the said items. Toys help animals feel more relaxed and less stressed out. Playing games keeps animals alert, active and happy. Cut the old clothes into thick strips and braid them into tug toys. If you don't know how to braid, ask your mother, sister or friend to show you how. Tie the rag braids at both ends tightly so that it would not come undone easily. You can also make a cloth ball by knotting strips of cloth repeatedly until it forms a tight ball. Or you can make a rug for baby animals and nursing mama cats and dogs by laying several braided tug toys together and then stitching them all into a rug. Make as many tug toys, cloth balls and pet rugs as you can. When you do get the opportunity to visit the nearest animal shelter, hand them your contributions. This project will keep old clothes out of landfills and also create inexpensive, waste-free toys for shelter animals.

 

 

4. START A SEEDLING FARM FOR A COMMUNITY GARDEN

Some of the community gardens and edible gardens in the Klang Valley include the Free Tree Society of Kuala Lumpur (http://www.freetreesociety.org/), the TTDI Edible Garden (http://kgi.org/ttdi-edible-project) and Eats Shoots and Roots (http://eatsshootsandroots.org/). Some gardens may not have their own websites and Facebook pages but are managed by residents' associations next to community centres and playgrounds and can be found in neighbourhoods all over the country. Contact the volunteers managing the gardens and offer to grow plants for them to replant or give away. This is rather like being a foster parent to plants. Young plants often get eaten by insects, snails or other pests, so you can help these gardens by growing and caring for plants until they are big or strong enough to be transplanted into the ground. Collect used paper cups, juice cartons and other containers that you can use as planting pots. Poke little holes in the bottom of the cups and cartons for drainage so that your plant's roots will not be waterlogged. Fill around 1/3 of the cartons and cups with gravel or pebbles for drainage. Fill the rest of it with potting soil. Collect the seeds from the fruits and vegetables that you eat. Leave a ripe tomato or chilli on the kitchen counter to dry out for the seeds. You can also collect carrot tops, sweet potato stalks and mint stems for planting. Plant these into your planters and water your plants in moderation. Your successful plants can be donated to these community gardens.

 

3. BE A POSTCARD PAL

Request nicely for unused postcards from relatives and friends who travel or collect free postcards. Sign up for YellowHouseKL's e-volunteering programme athttp://yellowhousekl.com/e-volunteer/. Fill in the postcards and mail them to YellowHouseKL for their onward transmission to children in hospitals and juvenile detention centres. This is a good way of using up postcards that you would not otherwise know what to do with.

  

5. BOOK COLLECTION CENTRE AND BOOK HOSPITAL

As with collecting clothes and recyclables, you can set up a Book Collection Centre and Book Hospital to collect and repair books for charity. Collect books from your friends and family and sort through them. Catalogues, used and outdated reference books and schoolbooks and manuals should go into the paper recycling bin. Sort books into books for children and adults. Wipe the covers with a damp cloth to clean them and air-dry them for a day before you wrap them. Repair torn pages and wrap book covers in plastic wrap (You can reuse the clear smooth plastic bags that new clothes come in to wrap books with). Books for adults can go to community libraries (often in community centres) or the Green Living Little Free Library at the MNS HQ. Books for children can go to various refugee schools and community learning centres, and organisations such as The Revolving Library (https://www.facebook.com/therevolvinglibrary) and the Lorong Kurau Bangsar Community Library.

 

 

There are no limits to what causes you can volunteer for once you have  made up your mind to help. Contact the organisations you are interested in and offer your best skills. There are many ways you can get your friends involved so that you can encourage and motivate one another as volunteers. What else can you think of? How about a charity birthday party during which your guests fill in postcards, make pet toys, bake pet treats, and clean and repair used books and toys for others? No contribution, however small, goes unappreciated!

 

"How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it."

- George Ellison