Here in Malaysia, 38,000 tonnes of solid waste are being collected daily to be sent to landfills — so how can Malaysians work to reduce this? Part of the solution is recycling, which prevents waste from going into landfills in the first place, and leading the charge is i-KITAR, the first startup to digitise recycling centres in Malaysia.
i-KITAR's mission is to accelerate positive change in waste management behaviour and promote responsible waste management for our local communities. In its role as a technology service provider specialising in digitally transforming recycling centres, it provides complete end-to-end solutions designed to make recycling as easy as possible.
This includes project implementation services to deploy recycling centres, management services to operate recycling centres, and software applications to reward communities with cash or reward points. In fact, each recycle centre can even select types of acceptable items, customise rewards types, integrate with other reward systems, or move into becoming a Drive-Thru Recycle Centre (DTRC).
“Looking at our population growth rate of 2.4%, that means an additional 600,000 people are added to Malaysia’s numbers every year. Knowing this, we have to teach the community to be responsible for their own waste. Malaysians must learn how to treat waste properly and practise proper waste management behaviour. This is the only way to make urban living sustainable, ensuring sufficient green spaces and healthy living conditions for future generations,” says Ts. Fong Yit Meng, founder of i-KITAR.
Through MRANTI’s Global Accelerator Programme (GAP), i-KITAR has connected to various stakeholders, unlocking numerous opportunities to engage with investors, partners, and communities both locally and regionally. In fact, using the GAP ecosystem, i-KITAR was even connected to UNICEF to explore how to bring climate literacy to children, as well as the potential of using i-KITAR’s application to nurture good waste management practices among children.
Its robust program provided i-KITAR the skills, knowledge and abilities to strategically execute action plans that deliver real positive impacts to target communities. For example, in a project in Terengganu, i-KITAR successfully taught 27% of a three-block residence consisting of 1,000 units to separate recyclable items into paper, metal, plastics, and food waste, before sending them to an i-KITAR recycling centre.
By sending recyclable materials to factories to convert into new materials, this creates a circular economy, promoting sustainable living and improving the well-being of our communities. At the heart of it all, i-KITAR is working towards a future where Malaysia has more recycling centres than garbage dumps. i-KITAR’s founder, Ts. Fong Yit Meng, calls for strategic partnerships with local business, property owners, and NGOs to continue accelerating our recycling education, and to contribute to hitting the national recycling rate goal of 40% by 2025.
This article is provided by Elliot & Co.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
