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WALK through any neighbourhood in Kota Kinabalu today, and you will still see the same sight - cardboard boxes, plastic bottles and tins dumped together in general rubbish bins. We know these are recyclable, yet they continue to end up in already overflowing landfills.

For years, many of us, myself included, have heard the message: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It sounds simple. I believed I was doing my part by sorting recyclables and sending them to the Tzu Chi recycling centre in Kolombong.

Only when I began volunteering there every Saturday did I realise how far we still have to go.

On my first day, I was struck by the number of usable items being thrown away, electrical appliances needing minor repairs, stacks of paper with unused pages, and clothes still in good condition. These are not waste, but resources carelessly discarded.

The centre is well organised. Items are sorted into categories, plastics, clothing, household goods, and paper. Newspapers, textbooks and office paper are separated because each type has value when recycled.

Yet volunteers spend too much time dealing with items that should never have been sent there.

A recycling centre is not a dumping ground.

Volunteers regularly handle soiled paper, food-contaminated items, damp materials and unusable clothing. This is not only unpleasant but unhygienic and unfair to those giving their time.

Even more concerning is the number of sensitive documents discarded, photocopies of ICs, bank statements and letters with full addresses. With scams on the rise, this is risky. Volunteers try to destroy such documents, but this responsibility should not fall on them.

Most people mean well, but good intentions are not enough. Recycling properly requires effort. If unsure what can be recycled, a simple call to the centre can help.

At the same time, the centre shows what a community can achieve when people take responsibility.

Volunteers from all walks of life, students, retirees, homemakers and individuals with special needs work side by side. One volunteer carefully checks every sheet of paper before sorting it, refusing to cut corners. It is a simple reminder that doing a job properly still matters.

Young people are also stepping forward. I met a student volunteering as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award. Beyond fulfilling a requirement, he is learning responsibility, discipline and respect for the environment, values that cannot be taught in classrooms alone.

There are also people like Alex, a collector of old Malaysian publications. What others throw away; he preserves. His collection now supports students and researchers. It is proof that what we call waste often has value.

The centre also benefits nearby residents, who can buy affordable clothing, shoes and household items. At a time of rising living costs, this makes a difference.

But outside the centre, the problem remains.

We see it every day in our neighbourhoods, markets and towns.

So, the issue is not awareness, but action.

Is it really too much trouble to separate recyclables, keep them clean, and send them to centres like Tzu Chi in Kolombong or the DBKK Recycling Centre at Taman Fortuna?

We often complain about dirty surroundings and uncollected rubbish, yet real change will never come from policies or campaigns alone, it begins at home and in schools, in the habits we practice every day and in the values we pass on to our children, shaping not only their behaviour but our own as adults.

If every household in Kota Kinabalu practised the 3Rs, we would see immediate results: cleaner surroundings, less waste and reduced pressure on landfills.

Recycling is not just about the environment. It is about responsibility and common sense.

Before throwing something away, ask - is it really rubbish or just the easier option?

Borneo Golden Girl

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