WHEN you go shopping at your local Ramadan bazaar this month, be sure to bring your own containers and bags to help do your part for the environment.  

The Global Environment Centre (GEC) has teamed up with Kuala Lumpur City Hall to create awareness of environment conservation and to promote environmentally friendly habits among the community in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.  

“The Ramadan bazaar at Taman Tun Dr Ismail is a pilot project for us. We have been planning this for a long time and finally City Hall agreed to work on this project with us.  

“We chose this area because they seem quite responsive and also the month-long Ramadan bazaar is a good opportunity for us to have longer period exposure,” said Suzana Mohkeri of GEC.  

“The climate change issue sounds like a big thing that we cannot fathom but in fact, a simple thing like cutting down on plastic and styrofoam usage goes a long way because these are the main environmental destructive habits that people have got so used to,” she explained. 

The high wastage ratio during Ramadan bazaars also serves as a good opportunity for the centre to help spread the message among consumers and traders. 

Officers from City Hall and GEC went on their rounds to brief traders on the implementation of the campaign and how the traders should encourage their customers to bring their own containers to pack their food. 

“Most of the traders are concerned over what would happen if the customers do not bring their own bags. We told them that we have done our part in creating awareness among the community to help participate in the campaign,” she said. 

Flyers, banners and posters have been put up around the TTDI area to help spread the word among the community. 

“As an incentive to the traders as well as the customers, we are giving out prizes and goodies to those who participate in the campaign,” Suzana said.  

“As this project is a first of its kind for GEC, we expect to learn many things from it. We want to see how we can improve it in the future because we definitely want this to continue. We hope communities elsewhere will pick this up and continue to help protect our environments,” she said.  

Many of the traders have responded positively to the move. 

“I would prefer if the customers bring their own containers because I don’t have to buy plastic bags and styrofoam containers,” said a trader Wan Zabedah.