Thursday 12 June 2008

Walk the talk

After giving that speech on environment last week, some of my colleagues have been talking about our ‘tah pau’ habit. You see, a few of us pack food from the hawker quite regularly and I was making fun about how we have been damaging the environment with the styro-foam containers and plastic bags. Today, we finally changed that…



About 4 of us who packs regularly and assuming that we pack 3 days in a week, we now effectively cut down on 12 styro-foam packets and 12 plastic bags every week. That is less 48 styro-foam containers and plastic bags down the rubbish dump every month and that is 576 styro-foam containers and plastic bags in a year!

One colleague who just returned from her honeymoon missed out on this initiative and she failed today, but I am sure she will join us in this mini effort from now on. I have to say, everyone was staring at me when I walked to the stored in my plastic container. I wonder what went through their mind.

Anyway, my colleagues would like to reiterate that they are doing this NOT because they are inspired by
my speech. They just choose to do it.

Done anything to change the world lately?

P/S: Early this week said no petrol increase till March 2009. Today said no petrol increase at least till end of the year. My friend still think there will be another increase in Aug. Who to believe? Who to believe?

59 comments:

Jerrenn said...

Haha. Interesting. I would believe your friend

Acute Critique said...

i would think that there will be another increase in fuel as well. as in when, that i don't know. just some gut feeling.

as for changing environment, erm.. does don't use plastic bags counts? =)

Anonymous said...

I had this habit some 8 years ago when I started working. Since I always "ta pao", I would bring my own container. Yes, I did get some stares back then, but what the heck.

I have stopped to ta pao since I changed my job and have been eating lunch at home during lunch break as my office is 5 mins away from home. Sweet! :D

Anonymous said...

whether to believe or not but it is better to be prepared in case suddenly tomorrow petrol increase again...

Anonymous said...

karliwantanmeen?? watch ur diet wei! :p

Purple~MushRooM said...

Wow... good move! If only everyone can do this. China has already imnplemented no plastic bag system. Shops cannot give away free plastic bags and they have to charge the consumer for it. Can see that everyone brings either a big bag or a trolley to carrefour now. I brought my trolley for shopping at Carrefour. Some shops changed to paper bags instead of plastic bags.

It's a good move. Carrefour reported a 90% drop in their plastic bag consumption.

tulipspeaks said...

been a long time since i ate anything out of Styrofoam containers. *proud of myself :)

bwtn, i usually save paper whenever i make prints. beside using double sides for printing, i print 2 pages in one side of the paper. means i only need 1 paper instead of 4. of course, i won't work for project print outs, but works perfectly fine for my own reading.


ammu.
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zewt said...

Poseidon - you would huh :)

Acute Critique - can... even little effort.

gina - sigh... i have not had that luxury for a long time!

Boss Cat - how to be prepared ah? store up at home?

sooi2 - healthy already. i dont eat so much meat.

purple mushroom - it's really a good move. if china can do it, i am sure malaysia can.

tulipspeaks - not when i wanna print and present things to my boss... but of cos, i print double sided.

Little Jennifer said...

little efforts u do today, it saves tonnes of unnecassity wastage in the future..good~

day-dreamer said...

Nice initiative. Keep it up!

Well, I have my doubts about what Pak Lah says. "Parliament will not be dissolved today". Then what happened? :x

Bee Ean said...

Nice effort man. France is talking about having gas as luxury item in the very near future.

Anonymous said...

they say by october petrol will be rm4/litre wor.... how now?

Anonymous said...

While we are trying to save the environment, the famous chicken rice shop at pending is now using styro-foam to serve the customers instead of plates T___T

missironic said...

hahaha..watever it is as long as doing it for a gud cause, it doesnt matter bcoz of who or wat, rite? hehehehe...

on a side note, everything is hard to blieve...so keep the ears and eyes open constantly..surprise might happen anytime..dun u tink so? hehehe...

Seaqueen said...

Wow!!! Very good. A very big applause please for Zewt and his colleagues. Well done. Really admire your spirit for going all the way. :)

My Rantings said...

Starting June 1, my kids' school started asking the students to bring their own containers when buying food from the canteen. No more using styrofoam which I think is a very good move. Now my hubby does the same thing too when he tapaus his lunch. Let's all do it & preserve the earth for our future generations.

william wang said...

Everyone has the duty to save guard our enviroment, we had taken our bad habits for granted for too long. Every concientious awareness will make our enviroment more pleasant. I am glad your group had started it.
On the subject of our politicians, I think they had already lost their credibility. Have a good day.

Anonymous said...

mentally prepared... or prepare bicycle... woooooooohoooooooooooo...

Tunku Halim said...

Bravo! Instead of a plastic container, use a metal tiffin carrier. Then you can takeaway several items and looks cool too! :)

Anonymous said...

I agree with tunku! Buy the Zebra stainless steel tiffin carrier!!! Got 2 tingkat ones!! Those plastic things may not be that safe!!! Even though they claim to be microwave safe, eg!

Anonymous said...

Btw, the plastic container with the mihun, veg and green chillies also FAIL!!! They're not durable...and may break after using for a few times...and have to be thrown away...and plastic is non-biodegradable!

§pinzer said...

i'm very impressed :)

Anonymous said...

i reckon this whole fuel thing is totally blown out of proportion. petrol price increase all around the world and Australia pays RM6 for a litre and there are comments about it but no complaints. the government should just improve the whole public transport system and the community should shut up and walk the talk. get on the public transport - it's cheaper and it helps the environment. what's with all the GO GREEN, SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT talk, when everyone still take driving for granted?

my two cents. :)

Anonymous said...

Ever notice that ppl in Malaysia stare at u like ur from outer space if u say that u don want a plastic bag for ur purchases? Anything wrong with not wanting a plastic bag??? Help save their cost and the environment yet they're not appreciative. Sigh...

FYI: You can't store-up petrol in large quantities coz u actually need a permit to do so.

Cherry Popcorn said...

Yeah for protecting the environment!!! Go Zewt! =)

drumsticks said...

hehe.. 4 people trying to change the world. Maybe you and your friends should become the fantastic four or something.. haha joking.

hmm.. i didn't do anything to change the world except i didn't litter for 5 years already. can't stand the sight of people littering, draw graffiti or destroying public stuffs.. malaysians are a depressing lot.. sigh

Anonymous said...

good on u. this is one habit that i must pick up too. ;) well done.

Anonymous said...

maybe i should start too...

when I first joined college, the food we cooked is so wasted as most of it is discarded if not eaten. Same goes in the hotels.

At first it wa a bit of a culture shock. Now its something we all got used to.

Sad, such waste.

Wee-Leng said...

I share the same sentiment with you Zewt and some of you here on being a part of 'giving a break' to Mother Earth.

I am 70% a ta-pau person and I've gotten my own containers to pack my food everytime these days. Where best possible, I'll tell aunty I neednt the plastic, I can carry in my container. Of course, I get lots of stare and puzzled look for insisting my food to be in MY container but most often than not, the aunties / uncles, will give me an encouraging smile.

But the worst is the ignorant people around me. Always asking me what's with the container when I walk down to buy food. Some even has the cheek to crack a joke out of it, as if it's very funny.

But heck it. If we are doing something good for the environment, heck cares what those ignorant selfish people thinks rite?

Anonymous said...

Bravo on your efforts, though I must say those plastic containers do break down fast...If you have one of those tupperware-like containers from home, those would do the trick too.
Me? I've started bringing my own shopping bag when I go shopping :) I'm not 100% off plastic bags, but it's a start :)

zewt said...

sugarbaby - yup, it all begins with us.

day-dreamer - we all dont really trust him anymore, dont we.

Bee Ean - gas as luxury? what do u mean?

littlepolaris - i think it's aug leh. how? dont drive lor.

rosewong - at pending? where's that?

missironic - i wonder what will he surprise us next.

seaqueen - do your part also ler...

zewt said...

dancing queen - well said... it's not about us... it's really for the future. and we are responsible for it.

william wang - let us all play our part.. do a bit for the environment today.

Boss Cat - i think i will walk! haha.

Tunku Halim - haha... that is too much. i think plastic container will do for now.

suituapui - i know ler... but better than nothing right. at least we are not throwing them away.

Spinzer - hehe... :)

ehonchan - i never... i always reiterate that we should not drive so much... :)

zewt said...

pinknpurplelizard - that is why we still have 3rd world mentality.

princess shin - go go go!

drumsticks - i hope to increase the coverage from our 4! hehe.

Jed Yoong - do it! you'll feel good yourself.

pervertism101 - not maybe... u really should. on food wastage... yeah, we are just too blinded of the needs of those in starvation.

wee-leng - that's why... some ppl still dont change... they just dunno what is happening around them. they will wait till disaster strike before doing something... the petrol price hike is a good example.

giddy tigress - well, i think it's a good start. hopefully we will get a more durable one soon.

Anonymous said...

Kudos to you for making the effort! Every little things count! We've been practicing that for a while now. A lot of people I know have started doing that as well!
As for the petrol hike, always believe the sooner than later. Sad but true.

CK said...

i bring my shopping bag to Giant and they dun allow me to bring it in. i insisted and the security guard gave up.

Seaqueen said...

Yes boss. Will do my part. ;)

Jane said...

hey great choice. if malaysia govt decided to ban everyone using plastic bags how good is that.

Anonymous said...

i salute u! great initiative :)

tho i must say i do agree with a few of the others that plastic containers are also detrimental to health of mother earth... yet if they were used for life and perhaps passed down from generation to gen than we should be in the right direction i guess :)

waterfall-forest

Anonymous said...

I think this is a very good idea, how come it never crosses my mind. I will do exactly this the next time I go tah-pau.

I go shopping with my own bag. If I am without one, I try to stuff as many things into a carrier bag as possible, or if I purchase one or two items, I will just tell the cashier I don't need a bag. So far, all cashiers give me a strange look as if nobody has declined a carrier bag before.

I like to think of myself as an environmental friendly person. I have four bins at home - paper, glass/tin, plastics and misc. About once a month, I will send recycleable items to a charity center where proceeds from the sale of these items are donated to charity. Killing two birds with one stone. Heh-heh-heh...

I use a food waste disposal unit at my kitchen sink, eliminating food waste in the garbage which, I am sure all will agree, give out quite a nasty odour. No doubt, almost 100% of the odour from garbage dumps originated from food waste.

Right now, being a new mummy, I have yet to think of what to do with my baby's soiled disposable diapers. I try as often as possible to use washable cloth nappies. But surely, whenever baby goes out, we must use a disposable diaper. He also uses a disposable diaper at night. Anyone with an environmental friendly idea to share? One thing I can think of at the moment... toilet-train him asap! ;)

zewt said...

cc - it's good to know that many ppl are making an effort to save the environment. hopefull the circle will increase bigger.

CK - screw the security guards!

seaqueen - good girl.

jennijane - dont ban... just make ppl pay hehe...

waterfall-forest - hahaha... passed down to the next generation... that is a bit too far fetched. a good idea nonetheless. oh, u missed my speech.

siew - wow... you are really going all the way arent you... kudos to you. hopefully more mummies will follow your footsteps. yeah, the tah pau thing is the way to go! hehe...

SuLee said...

i was back this january :) not anytime soon

U-Jean said...

i think it's a good effort that you and your friends are doing. but to reduce 576 styrofoams containers, u huys will have to do it for at least a year. NOT TWO WEEKS.

so, good luck.

you can try getting reusable eating utensils like spoons, forks, or chopsticks. can save on disposables as well

TH said...

If everyone stops asking for plastic bags, we'll reduce waste too!

myop101 said...

well, unlike in the past, i am now consciously switching on less lights to reduce my electricity bills. can't do that for aircon...

other than that, i have been eating at foodcourts. i don't bring my own plate and cutlery though...

Huei said...

hah! we all know who NOT to believe!
r food cheaper ar if u bring ur own containers? blardi hell food at ming tien (PJ) increased by almost rm1! noodle la..haih..can dun eat liao! haha

kyliemc said...

guess there'll b another increase soon...but what bout salary increase? gosh... difficlt to survive nowadays, huh?

missironic said...

probably something not so gud for the faint-hearted ones? hahahaa...

Rashikaps said...

Refusing plastic bags when not really really required ..

Mcmercedez said...

Helping the environment is a good thing to do.. Thumbs up for that.. hehe..

As for the petrol, trust 8lah and you'll end up become like him.. (think you get my point already)..

zewt said...

SuLee - hmmm... long term plan is still there i guess :)

u-jean - i am sure we will do it for the rest of our lives... we have to :) yeah, we dont use disposable cutleries too. that's bad as well.

Twisted Heels - here in msia... they seller stuff it to you.

myop101 - well, with the imminent increase in tariff... i guess this is a good move.

huei - hahaha.. yeah... i heard many places increasing price. ask boss to give payrise. demand!

kyliemc - boss should really do something. start a revolution! haha.

missironic - like..?

rashikaps - malaysians have yet to reach that stage.

mcmercedez - hmmm... profound! hehe...

narrowband said...

I have stopped believing the govt or the top administration whenever they make a statement. Esp the top guy's statements. I won't believe the things uttered until the event actually taking place.

Anonymous said...

Good on you for bringing your own container, and cut down the use of styro-form packets.

zewt said...

narrowband - that bad huh... cant blame u really.

jam - and i am trying to spread this culture!

WY said...

zewt, i have picked up that habit ever since i came to nz. :D

wonder why these kinds of habits have to be taught to us by ang moh?

zewt said...

WY Kam - cos we are behind them... mentally speaking... definitely.

KittyCat said...

Good for you and your friends! If they continue to stare, just puff up your chest and flash a brilliant Superman smile lor...they're staring coz you are all so handsome and beautiful ma LOL

zewt said...

kittycat - hahahaha... okies... i shall try that

sharlydia said...

Just started using my own container to tapau lunch when i work from home nowadays...

zewt said...

sharlydia - well done!