1

Role of religious communities in enhancing transition experiments:

A localised strategy for sustainable solid waste management in
Malaysia


Zeeda Fatimah MOHAMAD
a,c,e
Noorshahzila IDRIS
a,
a
Department of Science & Technology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
b
Centre for Waste Management, Universiti Malaya
E
Sustainability Science Cluster, Universiti Malaya

*Corresponding author.
Tel: +6 0379677164; Fax: +6 0379674196
Address: Department of Science & Technology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
E-mail address: zeeda21@um.edu.my (Zeeda F. M.)

ABSTRACT

Religious belief in its most ideal form is seen as a powerful force to create ecological
transformations to succeeding generations that share similar religious beliefs. This provides an
interesting argument for enhancing their role in sustainability transitions. Malaysia is a highly
relevant geographical context in this regard since almost all of its citizens formally embrace some
kind of religious belief. However, such ideas are mostly discussed at the theoretical level with
little systematic empirical evidence from the ground. This paper aims to fill in this gap by
presenting theoretically-informed empirical insights on how a number of religious organisations
are currently creating successful experiments in recycling activities within the context of an urban
community in Malaysia. The paper argues that such evidence may demonstrate the potential
role of religious communities to enhance the quality of recycling experiments that are essential
for the transition towards a more sustainable solid waste management in Malaysia. The paper is
based on exploratory multiple case study of successful recycling programmes conducted by
selected religious communities from four key religions in Malaysia Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism and Islam. The theoretical framework for this research is based on the sustainability
transitions and diffusion of innovation literatures.















No. of words: 11,777 words
2

1. Introduction

At present, sustainable development is an overarching objective for societies world-wide, but
studies on sustainability transitions are primarily studied in the west. It is argued however that
transformative changes towards more sustainable development pathways need to occur in the
rapidly urbanising and industrialising Asian economies and societies as well (Berkhout et al,
2010, Bai et al., 2009 )
1
. In line with this emphasis, there is a growing acknowledgement in the
literature that religion, one of the unique features of the Southeast-Asian socio-cultural landscape
(Mulder, 2001), can play an effective role in the protection of the worlds ecological system
(Foltz et al., 2003; Tucker & Williams, 1997; Chappel & Tucker, 2000; Hessel & Ruether, 2000).
Religious belief in its most ideal form is seen as a powerful force to create purposive
transformations by transmitting ecologically positive habit of practice and attitudes of mind to
succeeding generations that share similar religious beliefs (Foltz et al., 2003). The idea is much
more powerful when one considers that more than half of the worlds population embraces some
sort of religious beliefs to guide their everyday lives. South-East Asia, and specifically Malaysia,
is a particularly interesting policy context for this kind of argument since almost all of its citizens
formally embrace some kind of religious belief. According to 2007 statistics (Table 1),
approximately 61% of the population in Malaysia practice Islam; 19% Buddhism; 9%
Christianity and 6% Hinduism. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including
Animism, Sikhism, and the Baha'i Faith. Those with no religion cover less than 1% of the
Malaysian population. Those with no religion cover less than 1% of the Malaysian population.
Hence, exploring the role of religious communities in enabling sustainability transition might be
an interesting strategy to consider in this context.

Table 1:
Percentage of Religious Adherents in Malaysia and the World







Source: Figures obtained from The World Factbook
(accessed on 17.09.2010)


1
This was the basis for organising the recent Conference on Innovation and Sustainability Transitions in Asia on
9-11 January 2011.
Religious Adherents Malaysia World
Muslim 60.4% 21.01%
Buddhism 19.2% 5.84%
Christian 9.1% 33.32%
Hindu 6.3% 13.26%
Others 3.1% 12.25%
None (including Atheists) 0.8% 14.09%
Jews 0% 0.23%
3

Indeed, optimism on the power of religion to create large-scale and deep-seated ecological
transformation, plus the strong religious socio-demographics of the country has already
encouraged popular views on the important role of religious communities in enhancing
environmental practices in Malaysia (Zuhdi, 2011, forthcoming; Hazim et al., 2011, forthcoming,
Sharifah Zaleha & Hezri, 2009). However, these are mostly discussed at the theoretical and
conceptual level with little systematic empirical observation on the ground. Even if empirical
evidence is being reported, most of the literature is quite general or anecdotal, and based on
historical cases (particularly on past civilisational traditions) rather than contemporary ones. This
limits the practicality of such arguments, particularly when they have to be applied in the context
of contemporary modern society. Nonetheless, from a general observation, such optimism is not
without grounds, especially in the environmental issue of municipal solid waste management
(MSWM), one could increasingly observe the proactive role of Muslim (NST, 2010a), Hindu
(Komunitikini, 2011), Buddhist (The STAR, 2008) and Christian (NST, 2010b) communities in
organising successful recycling programmes in the country and influencing good recycling
practices, particularly in the urban areas. This paper aims to explore this idea through an
empirical investigation on the participation of religious communities in recycling programmes in
Malaysia, and using this as a basis to provide some insights on the potential role of religious
communities in strengthening transition experiments and niche formation for a more sustainable
MSWM in Malaysia.

2. Theoretical building blocks

2.1. Transition experiments

In recent year, the literature on innovation system is increasingly arguing that changes in socio-
technical regimes are fundamental to create structural changes in the economy, and therefore a
crucial process to achieve sustainability. Such views are deeply rooted from the evolutionary
perspective that the interplay between economic growth and technological change are closely
related, and they co-evolve. Socio-technical change is seen as complex, unstructured, multi-
causal, involves many stakeholders, shrouded by uncertainties and deeply rooted in our societal
structure and institutions (Kemp and Soete, 1992). Therefore, from this viewpoint, the move
towards sustainable development demands a more holistic revision of the socio-technical
environment. Piecemeal solutions in greening individual behaviour (deep ecology), artefacts
(green technology), industrial processes (cleaner production, ecological modernisation) and
4

markets (neo-liberal market mechanism) may not be sufficient to achieve such the level
transformation that is needed for sustainability (Mulder, 2009; Geels et al., 2008).

This intellectual movement has led to the growing literature on sustainability transitions where
necessary changes for sustainability is viewed at the level of structural transformation on broad
societal functions such as energy supply, mobility, health-care, agriculture and waste
management (Loorbach and Rotmans, 2006; Lehman and Kemp, 2007) with technological
change being seen as one key component of a broader institutional, behavioural and cultural
changes that co-evolve. One of the key heuristic tool to explain the process of sustainability
transitions is the multi-level socio-technical system framework (Rip and Kemp,1998; Geels,
2002; Geels, 2004). The framework explains sustainability transitions by the interplay of
processes at three different levels: niches, regimes and landscapes (Figure 1).


Figure 1: Socio-technical system framework

Regime represents the dominant selection environment for technological development in a
particular societal function (Geels, 2002). Existing regimes are characterised by path-dependence
and lock-in, resulting from stabilising mechanisms be it from incumbent actors and networks
with vested interests and organisational capital; regulation, standards and cognitive routines that
may blind developments outside of the normal focus; and existing machines and infrastructures
that stabilises the physical structure through sunk investments and technical complementarities
between components (Unruh, 2000). Such stabilising mechanisms are the growth of regimes, but
they also serve as obstacles. During transitions, these stabilising forces are weakened to allow
new regimes to emerge, achieve stability and become dominant. (Berkhout et al, 2010: p.8). The
weakening of the regimes depends on whether niches, the locus or space where novelties
emerge (Kemp et al, 1998) can be nurtured, Niches is like an incubation room, shielding new
5

technologies from mainstream selection environment and provide location for various learning
processes, as well as a space for building social networks to support the innovations. Finally,
landscapes forms an exogenous environment to the niche-regime that usually changes slowly
but has a deep structuring influence on niches and regimes and on their interaction. Examples
include deep seated cultural and normative value, broad political coalition and long term
economic developments (Berkhout et al, 2010: p.8-9). Direct influence by actors/agents decreases
as they operate from the level of niche to regime and landscape and the achievement of
desirable changes for sustainability is dependent upon the strength of niche formation, and how
the niches are able to co-evolve with the higher socio-technical levels of regime and landscape
towards the desired goal.

One of the least elaborated aspects of the socio-technical system framework, however, is the
interaction between the different socio-technical levels (Raven et al, 2010). For instance,
theoretical appreciation on the importance of niches in transforming regimes has been discussed
widely in the literature, but how are niches being formed in the first place, and what characterises
a strong niche formation? Such concerns have encouraged more recent theoretical and empirical
focus on the process of niche formation - particularly at the level of transition experiments
(which refers to innovation projects in which actors in society learn about socio-technical
challenges); and how these experiments can collectively contribute to the development of niches.
Although the work is diverse, Raven (2005, cited in Raven et al, 2010) asserts that many scholars
tend to explain the success and failure of transitions experiments by analysing the interaction
between what he labelled as the three internal niche processes. This is summarised in Box 1.

Box 1: Transition experiments and the internal niche processes

(i) Voicing and shaping expectations and visions: Various actors participate in transition
experiments on the basis of expectations. Articulating expectations is important to attract
attention as well as new actors, in particular when an innovation is still in early development and
functionality and performance are still unclear. Expectations also provide direction to
development; they act as cognitive frames for making choices in the design process. The process
of voicing and shaping of expectation is considered good when (a) an increasing number of
participants share the same expectation; and (b) when expectations are increasingly based on
tangible results from the experiments.
(ii) Building social networks: In the early phases of development, social network is still fragile.
Transition experiments require new combinations of actors, often coming from previously
unconnected fields and disciplines. So experimentation in niches requires new actors to get
together and make new social networks emerge. Building social network is considered good
when (a) the network is broad (including firms, users, policy makers, scientists, and other
relevant actors from the science and technology domains, and the policy domains and the social
6

domain, including both regime actors and outsiders) (b) when alignment within the network is
facilitated through regular interactions between the actors. In the case of social innovation in
particular the first criterion is important to ensure outsiders are not excluded from the transition
experiments.
(iii) Learning process: A good learning process enables adjustment of the technology or social
embedding to increase chances on successful diffusion. A good learning process (a) broad
focusing not only on techno-economic optimisation, but also on alignment between the technical
(e.g. technical design, infrastructure) and the social (e.g. user preferences, regulation and cultural
meaning); and (b) is reflexive there is attention for questioning underlying assumptions such as
social values, and the willingness to change course if the innovation does not match the
assumption. In social innovation, learning is guided by specific social goals and can be
characterised by social learning a process

Source: Raven, 2010, p.

2.1. Contribution from Diffusion of innovation literature to the conceptualisation of
transition experiments

Theories on diffusion of innovation describe how, why, and at what rate new ideas and
technology can spread through communities or cultures. The concept was first studied by the French
sociologist Gabriel Tarde and by German and Austrian anthropologists such as Friedrich Ratzel and Leo
Frobenius . This paper, however, mainly gains its theoretical and analytical inspiration from more recent
work by the well-known sociologist Everett Rogers. Through his classic book, Diffusion of Innovation
(1995), Rogers is considered by many to be the father of diffusion of innovation research. (McGrath and
Zell, 2001: 386). Based on his vast knowledge in conducting both theoretical and empirical work
in this field, Everett Rogers defines diffusion as the "the process by which an innovation is
communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system"
Innovation here refers to an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or
other unit of adoption. In this definition, diffusion of innovation is perceived to be influenced by
three main elements: timing, communication channels and members of a social system (Rogers,
1995: 12 36). These are briefly discussed in the following.

Timing, among others
2
, refers to the timing requires for the innovation-diffusion process to
take place a process through which individuals (or other decision-making unit) in a social
system passes from first knowledge of an innovation to forming an attitude towards innovation,
to a decision to adopt or reject, to the implementation of idea and to confirmation of this
decision. The process is summarized in Rogerss Model of Five Stages in the Innovation-

2
In Rogers theory of Innovation Diffusion, the element of timing also includes the aspect of innovativness and innovations rate
of adoption. However, these are not included in this study.
7

Decision process (see Figure 2). A brief explanation on each of the five stages is provided in the
following:
Knowledge occurs when an individual is exposed to an innovation existence and gains
understanding of how it functions.
Persuasion occurs when an individual forms a favourable or an unfavourable attitude towards the
innovation.
Decision occurs when an individual (or other decision making units) engages in activities that
lead to a choice to adopt or reject an innovation.
Implementation occurs when an individual puts a new idea into new use.
Confirmation occurs when an individual seeks reinforcement of an innovation-decision already
made.

Figure 2: Model of Five Stages in the Innovation-Decision process
Source: Rogers, 1995, p.170

What are the factors that can be used to explain this process of adoption? Rogers (2005)
emphasizes two aspects: Communication channel and structure of social system.
Communication channel is the means by which messages get from one individual to another.
Mass media channels are more effective in creating knowledge of innovations (early stage),
whereas interpersonal channels are more effective in forming and changing attitudes to new idea,
and thus in influencing the decision to adopt or reject new idea (later stage). This is because
individuals evaluate an innovation not on the basis of scientific research by experts but through
subjective evaluations of near peers who have adopted the innovation (Rogers, 1995, p.36).
While, social system is a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to
8

accomplish a common goal. The system has a structure, defined as the patterned arrangements of
the units in the system, which gives stability and regularity to individual behavior in the system.
One aspects of social structure is norms, the established behavior patterns for the members of
the social system. (Rogers, 1995, p.37). A religious community, for instance, is an interesting
example of a social system with high level of normativity. The social and communication
structure of a system facilitates or impedes the diffusion of innovations in the system.

Returning to earlier discussion, the internal niche process suggested by Raven (2005) (Box 1)
deals with the issue of how one could assess the quality of experiments by clarifying the aspects
and characteristics of good internal processes that need to occur within an experiment to ensure
better niche formation. As shown by the empirical evidence that forms the basis of Ravens work
(Van der laak et al., 2007; ), this could include the whole process of generation, production,
demonstration, adoption and diffusion of sustainable technologies. This paper tries to compliment
Ravens idea by suggesting that the literature on diffusion of innovation can also be used to
assess the quality aspects of transition experiments, particularly in terms of the adoption and
diffusion of sustainable technology by particular groups of society such as the religious
community. This is because the model suggested by Roger (Figure 2) can provide a clear
distinction between the less and more successful experiments as it moves from the knowledge
to the confirmation stage. It also highlights the importance in understanding the structure of the
social system in influencing the level of adoption. This could be complimented to the Ravens
three internal niche processes to provide a more comprehensive understanding on the various
factors that could influence successful experiments.

4. Analytical framework and methodology

Based on the theoretical building blocks, this paper employs an exploratory multiple case study
on successful recycling programmes (as a form transition experiment) conducted by selected
religious communities in Malaysia as its methodological approach. The term successful here
means that each of the community programmes have reached the confirmation stage of their
recycling activities i.e. a stage characterised by the religious community having gone through all
the relevant stages that are required for successful adoption of recycling as a form of innovation.
Religious community in this context refers to a group of individuals with common religious
interest, while innovation (in this case, recycling) refers to an idea, practice or object that is
9

perceived as new by the community. The explanatory factor behind the higher level of adoption
will be based on the three internal niches processes that has occurred within the social structure
of each religious community. Hence, in order to determine the role of religious community in
enhancing transition experiments, the analysis will focus on ways in which the social structure
of religious communities are able to support the development of the internal niche processes
(Note: for this research, the aspects of communication channel, also highlighted by Rogers, are
not included due to incomplete data). Figure 3 provides the illustration of this analytical
framework.


(i) Knowledge:
Member of religious community knows about
recycling and gains understanding about it.
(ii) Persuasion:
Members of religious community actively seek for
more information about recycling, and forms
favorable attitude towards it.
(iii) Decision (to adopt)
Members of religious community consider adopting
recycling activities after consciously weighing its
advantages/disadvantages.
(iv) Implementation:
Members of religious community have
experimented with recycling activities either in a
short-term or ad-hoc manner.
(v) Confirmation:
Members of the religious community conduct the
recycling activity in a more continuous manner and
try to improve the activities overtime.



Figure 3: Analytical Framework employed in the study

All of the case studies were located at the state of Selangor, Malaysia and concentrated in high
and middle income suburban areas. Selangor has been selected as the geographical boundary due
to two reasons: (i) It has the highest amount of MSW generation amongst all states in the country
(Periaiah, 2009); (ii) Compared to many other states in country, it has been at the forefront in
conducting campaigns, setting-up policies and providing related facilities on recycling (Hassan et
al, 2000; Agamuthu, 2001: 59). Key features of recycling activities conducted by each religious
communities were explored for each case, and this exploration was analysed qualitatively using
data collected from semi-structured interviews, documentation and direct observations.
Higher
level of
adoption

Social structure of
religious community
contributing to:

-Voicing and shaping
expectations and
visions:

- Building social
networks

- Learning process
10

Under close supervision by the authors, preliminary investigations on several recycling
programmes by religious communities in Selangor were first conducted in mid-2009 by research
assistants who belong to each of the respective religious traditions. This is to enable easy access,
deeper communication and higher involvement in the community during the initial data
collection process. Individual reports were then submitted to the researchers in order to provide a
general picture of the phenomena. Subsequently, at the end of the year 2010, a follow-up
interview and direct observation were undertaken by the researchers on one successful case from
the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic case studies, respectively. This comprises of the
Buddhist community of the Tzu Chi Association, the Christian community of Beautiful Gate, the
Hindu community of Batu Caves Temple and the Islamic community of Surau al-Husna, The
following section presents the key empirical findings of the research. Key empirical observation
of each case will be described in the next section.

3. Recycling as a sustainable solution for solid waste management in
Malaysia

Malaysia, with a population of over 27 million in 2006, generates about 19,100 tones of
municipal solid waste (MSW) daily. This is sufficient to fill up the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers
3

in nine days. MSW generation figures has also increased more than 91% since 1996, due in
particular, to the rapid development of urban areas, rural-urban migration, increase per-capita
income and changes in consumption patterns brought about by rapid national development. A
majority of the countrys MSW ends up in landfills, and 80% of the 230 landfills that are
currently operating in Malaysia will reach maximum capacity within the next two years. The
problem is aggravated further since land availability for landfill sites are scarce and is priced at a
premium (Agamuthu and Fauziah, 2006). An innovative solution to solve the MSW problem
needs to be in place since the issue is not only contributing negatively to the quality of the natural
environment, but also the quality of public health as well. Common problem includes air
pollution (including greenhouse gases), water pollution, soil erosion, land degradation and most
importantly, the unnecessary wastage of the earths precious resources (Miller, 2005).

One of the policy challenges in solving the MSW issue globally, including Malaysia is to
encourage the adoption of more environmentally sustainable solutions to address the problem. At

3
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004
11

present, approaches to deal with problem of solid waste can be divided into two main categories:
waste management and waste reduction. The latter is considered a much more sustainable option
than the former. Waste management views waste production as a largely unavoidable product
of economic growth. It attempts to manage the resulting wastes in ways that reduce
environmental harm, mostly by mixing and often crushing them together and then burying them,
burning them or shipping them off to another state or country. In effect, it mixes the wastes we
produce together and then transfer them from one part of the environment to another.
Technological solutions such as landfills and incinerators can be classified under this approach.
The other approach is waste reduction, a low-waste approach that recognises that there is no such
thing as throwing away i.e. solid waste are always considered as a potential resource. It is
based on the three Rs for dealing with wastes we produce: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle or
commonly known as the 3R approach. It is a preferred solution because it tackles the problem of
waste production from the beginning, before it occurs rather than at the end. It also saves matter
and energy resources, reduces pollution, help protect biodiversity and saves money (Miller, 2005)
Based on this logic, solid waste can be managed from the most favoured to the least favoured
option reduce (or waste minimisation), reuse, recycle, recovery and landfill. This strategy is in
line with the principles of waste management hierarchy contained in the Malaysias Solid Waste
and Public Cleansing Management Bill which was approved in August 2007
4
but has yet to be
implemented to date (Agamuthu et al., 2009)

3.1. Recycling and Public Adoption in Malaysia

Recycling (using materials to make new products) as a part of the 3R approach, has gained
increasing attention as one of the key solutions for managing waste in a sustainable manner
(Troschinetz and Milhecic, 2009). For this reason, the Malaysian Government through the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government has launched a national recycling campaign as early
as in 1993 (Omran et al., 2009). In fact in December 2000, the Ministry of Housing and Local
Government re-launched the recycling programme and declared 11th November as the National
Recycling Day (Latifah et al., 2009). This time more money was used for publicity and for
educating the public. Several community groups and NGOs also took an active part by
spearheading recycling programs and the collection of reusable materials (Omran et al., 2009).

4
However, there has been a 10 years delay in the implementation of this bill. For more information, please refer to
Agamuthu et al.(2009)
12

However, despite significant efforts, the recycling rate in the country remains low. By 2006,
about 13 years after the first recycling campaign was launched a mere 5.5% recycling rate was
achieved in the country (Agamuthu and Fauziah, 2006). This figure is still off the mark compared
the 22% goal by 2020 originally set by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in 1993
(Mohd. Razman et. al., 1994) - and if one compares to the 50% and 70% recycling rate achieved
by neighbouring Singapore (The Straits Time, 2007) and Scandinavian countries (General News,
2009), respectively.

Evidence in the literature has shown that the success of a recycling programme is not only about
the availability of appropriate technology but depends largely on the level of public awareness.
Without appropriate information and rising of public awareness, new plans will fail to be
implemented and new systems not effectively utilized (Read, 1999). This is well recognised by
the Malaysian policy makers. Awareness creation program covers 66% of government budget
allocation for recycling, compared to 29% for creating recycling facilities and 5% for other
remaining expenses (Chenayah et. al, 2007). However, according to Agamuthu (2001) the
awareness to recycle among Malaysians is actually high at 82%, but very few actually practice
recycling for various reasons. This includes low availability of facilities and lack of incentives
and continuous motivation to conduct recycling. For instance a specific survey carried out in
Kedah (a state located at the northern part of Malaysia) revealed that even though householders
were generally aware of recycling, this awareness were not necessarily translated into widespread
recycling practices in a community (Omran et al., 2009). This is because the basic motivation of
the community to conduct recycling is very low. The top five reasons for non-recycling in this
specific case includes the inconvenience of time, facilities being too far away/inadequate, not
interested, no reward/money and not enough materials to recycle. Some of these obstacles can
probably be overcome if there is enough motivation by individuals/groups to take up the extra
effort. This opens up an interesting question: what factors can influence the success of recycling
programmes in Malaysia? Going back to earlier assertions on the power of religion to enhance
environmental practices in alaysia; this paper shall explore this question by investigating the
extent to which religious communities could play a role in this regard.



13


3.2 The role religious communities in recycling

Generally investigation on the role of religion in municipal solid waste management is extremely
limited in the literature
5
. Even for cases where religion is explicitly recognised as an important
factor to influence behaviour in waste management, investigations were restricted to minor
inclusion in survey questions, particularly for socio-demographic characterisation and with no or
limited analysis. In most part, religion as a part of socio-demographic data is only included for
countries with strong religious background such as Palestine (Al-Khatib, 2009), India
(Lakshmikantha, 2006), Bangladesh (Afroz et al, 2010; Sujauddin et al, 2008) Southern Thailand
(Schouw et al, 2002; Schouw et al, 2003) and Malaysia (Wahid and Chamhuri, 2007). In other
contexts, religious factors are not at all mentioned.

However, there are a few exceptions. Investigations on the role of religion in sustainable waste
management have been conducted by Arafat (2010) and to some degree by Al-Khatib (2009) and
Al-Khatib et al (2009) for the specific case of Palestine and Islam. In his study, Arafat (2010)
conducted a structured survey with 50 imams
6
and 1000 adult residents and children above 12
who were residing in Nablus district. His findings revealed that a significant statistical correlation
exist between Islamic religious conviction and public perception on littering problems. Religious
individuals were shown to be more inclined to ensure street cleanliness, more willing to
participate in road-cleaning campaigns and less likely to litter. However, his survey with the 50
imams presented contrasting results, whereby a significant fraction of them were found to be
reluctant to tackle the staggering littering issue in Palestine in their weekly sermons while the
ones who are inclined, did so rarely and sporadically. Therefore, the author concluded that the
role of religion in promoting environmental awareness in Palestine, although has a high potential,
tends to be under-utilised. Two other papers on Palestine (Al-Khatib, 2009 and Al-Khatib et al,
2009) also highlighted the significant influence of religion in shaping positive behaviour in
dealing with waste. From his interview with 240 children in a similar area, moral and religious
convictions had the highest agreement as the most effective technique to prevent children from
throwing glasses on the streets. In fact, popular methods for awareness campaign such as TV and
media outlet seems to be the least effective strategy. The papers also found that people who

5
This is based on the search of all articles with the key word religion and religious published by two key journals in the area
of solid waste management: Waste Management and Waste Management and Research
6
The person who lead religious prayers and deliver religious speeches during Friday congregational prayer.
14

identified themselves as strongly religious were found to litter less than those who have weak
or no religious convictions.

Even with the lack of systematic research in investigating the issue of religion in MSWM, we
consider that there is a need for such research to be conducted in the specific context of Malaysia
not only due to the countrys unique religious demographics, but also as mentioned earlier, as a
response to popular assertions that strong religious beliefs and foundation in Malaysia can be
used to encourage the adoption of positive environmental practices in the country. However, how
much of these ideals regarding the role of religion can be translated on the ground? Are there any
empirical evidences on successful activities by the religious community that can be used to
support such an argument? Exploring such questions is also particularly relevant for
policymakers in Malaysia, due to two reasons. One, because of the pressing need to seek creative
and localised solutions to address the countrys persistently low recycling rate, and two, because
religious communities are visibly seen to be conducting successful recycling activities in this
country (NST, 2010a, Komunitikini, 2011, STAR, 2008; NST, 2010b), as described in the
following sub-section.

3.3 Four successful cases of recycling programme by religious communities in the
Selangor, Malaysia

3.3.1 Buddhist community of the Tzu Chi Association

Tzu Chi Merit Association is a Taiwan-based Buddhist non-profit charitable organization with
eight key missions: charity, medicine, education, culture, bone marrow donation, international
relief, environmental protection and community volunteerism. Tzu Chi came to Malaysia in 1989
and at present it has over 30 liaison offices in different parts of Malaysia. Tzu Chis recycling
ideas began in Taiwan in 1990, after the Grand Tzu Chi Master Cheng Yen started her
environmental protection mission with the popular motto of using your clapping hands to do
recycling. She also urged all Tzu Chi volunteers to practice recycling in their daily lives with a
loving heart. Since then, 4,500 recycling points have been established in Taiwan with more than
60,000 volunteers being involved in this mission. In Malaysia, the recycling mission started in
1995. Currently there are more than 600 recycling points spread all over the country (with about
150 points alone located in the state of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur) with an estimated 10,000
Tzu Chi volunteers actively involved in the mission.
15

Tzu Chi uses communal-based recycling points rather than recycling bins as the main facility and
modus operandi of their recycling programmes. The recycling points operate every fourth Sunday
of every month; and are located at strategic locations to attract public attention, and these are not
necessarily confined within Buddhist majority areas. The use of recycling points is very much in
line with Tzu Chis recycling philosophy. They believe that the collective physical act of
collecting and sorting out garbage will encourage individuals to appreciate the value of waste,
make them feel more responsible over how wastage can impact their immediate community and
from this basis, develop the spiritual realisation to let go of the need for excessive material
possession. Once an individual appreciates this deep spiritual value of what recycling is all about;
they will then be enthusiastic to motivate others to join the recycling effort, particularly among
close family and friends. Going beyond the recycling points, in later years some members of the
Tzu Chi volunteers also expanded their activities by setting-up more permanent recycling centers.
Compared to the more irregular operations of the recycling points, the recycling centers are able
to collect recyclables on a more regular and frequent basis. Finally, collected and sorted
recyclables from the recycling points and centers are sold to permanent recycling contractors. Big
contractors will usual give the proceeds directly to the Malaysian Tzu Chi Association, whereas
smaller contractors will deal with individual volunteers, who will then pass the proceeds to the
Association. All of the proceeds are usually used to fund the associations local and international
relief work.

Overall, all Tzu Chi recycling programmes are set up and continuously maintained using a
bottom-up approach, largely mobilised by Tzu Chi volunteers on the ground. Inspired by the
words and examples of their Grand Master Cheng Yen and fellow volunteers in Taiwan,
proactive Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia have taken their own initiative to set-up recycling
programmes in their respective neighbourhoods, and these programmes are then continuously
supported and maintained by a group of Tzu Chi volunteers. Information about the recycling
programmes are publicised using various communication channels, be it in the form of flyers,
banners, website, newsletter, word of mouth and so forth. At present, the Tzu Chi recycling
programmes are becoming a common feature in many neighbourhoods in Selangor and after
fifteen years of operation, the collection rate of the program has actually increased exponentially,
particularly in the past five years. It is also interesting to note that the contributors of recyclables
to Tzu Chi recycling programmes are not only members of the Buddhist community, but also
16

from members of other religious groups as well. The success of the Tzu Chi recycling
programmes has been officially recognised when the association was presented with the Award
of Honour for Supporting the National Conservation Programme in conjunction with Malaysias
Environment Day celebration on 9 November 2003.

3.3.2. Christian community of Beautiful Gate

The Beautiful Gates Centre is one of the establishments under the Malaysian Chinese Methodist
Church. It was first established in 1993 and was recognised by the government as a full-fledged
foundation for the disabled in 2003. The main objective of the centre is to provide support for
people with disabilities. The Beautiful Gates Foundation started their recycling program in
Petaling Jaya, Selangor in 2004. This was in line with the local governments efforts at the time
to implement Local Agenda 21 - with recycling being promoted as one of the core programmes.
Recycling was also seen as a suitable environmental activity for the centre as it could also
provide working opportunities, skills development and an extra source of income for the
disabled. Hence, Recycling for Charity became the motto for the Beautiful Gates recycling
program. The recycling program was the brainchild of one of the founders of Beautiful Gates,
Pastor Sia Siew Chin a well respected figure in the Christian community. The pastor, who is
also disabled herself, has received numerous national and international awards for her
outstanding contribution in various areas of social services.

Initially, the activities by the Beautiful Gates recycling program was mainly to set-up and manage
a recycling point at one specific location in Petaling Jaya on every first Sunday of the month. As
will be mentioned later, other organizations like the Buddhist Tzu Chi Association set up
recycling points at the same place, but at different dates and time. The schedule is coordinated by
the Petaling Jaya municipality. A few years later, the Goodwill Community Foundation, a
foundation based in the United States, provided extra support for the program by donating three
large recycling bins specially designed to collect large volumes of recyclables, and they are
placed just at the front area of the Beautiful Gates office building. This provides a more
permanent facility for the public to donate their recyclables to Beautiful Gates. More recently in
2010, the government of Japan donated 50 recycling bins and this has enabled expansion of the
recycling program to other areas in Petaling Jaya and other parts of Selangor. Beautiful Gates has
also obtained permission from the Petaling Jaya municipality to place recycling bins at
17

apartments and also churches. This can be more convenient for the public as the bins, are now
placed nearer and more permanently in communal areas. Other than the on-site collection,
Beautiful Gates also owns three lorries and these have been used to collect recyclables directly
from households, especially for bulky items such as furniture. The lorries are also used to collect
recyclables from the recycling bins several times a week.

Once collection is done, the recyclables are then sorted according to different categories at a
recycling centre. Main categories of recyclables include paper, glass, plastic, clothes, furniture
and electronic devices. Some electronic devices can sometimes be repaired to be reused or sold at
a lower price. Finally, the sorted recyclables are then sold in three ways: One, buyers would visit
the recycling centre to choose and buy the recyclables. This is usually for clothes, furniture and
old computers. Two, using their own lorries, the staff from Beautiful Gates would send and sell
the recyclables directly to the recyclers. Three, handicrafts made from recyclables, and items that
are still in good condition are sold at the centers own thrift shop or at the nearby flee market. All
these recycling activities are carried out by the disabled staff at the Beautiful Gates Centre, with
some assistance from Beautiful Gates volunteers. In order to be involved in the recycling
activities, the disabled staff were given some training beforehand.

3.3.3 Hindu community of Batu Caves Temple

The Batu Caves Temple (also known as the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple) is located on a
limestone hill dedicated to Lord Muruga. It is one of the Hindu religions major sacred areas in
Malaysia and is located in Gombak district of Selangor. Batu Caves is well known for its
limestone caves and the hill with 272 steps. It also famous for having the tallest Lord Muruga
statue in the world. As it is located in a natural limestone cave, the temple has a very close
relationship with its environment. The caves are also known for their ecological diversity, where
various species of flora and fauna can be found. Even the Malaysian Nature Society regularly
organizes educational and adventure trips to the caves.

Recycling activities at the temple started about 11 years ago, as a response to the launching of the
national recycling day. The temple recycles bottles, cans, tins, paper, and cardboard. There are
many recycling bins around the temple area and temple workers collect the items around the
temple twice a day. This includes areas around the office building, temples and caves. The
18

recyclable items are then collected by the local municipality daily. The temple management does
not take any profit from its recycling activities as the objective of conducting recycling is mainly
to serve the environment as they believe that recycling activities should be done voluntarily and
without any intention for profit making. However, there are instances where foreign contract
workers, mostly from India, are allowed to collect the bottles and tins for their own profit. They
are usually given the task to collect recyclables found inside the caves and in the hills.

Other than the usual categories of recyclable item, the Batu Caves temple also recycles the
coconuts that have been used for Hindu prayer ceremonies. The supplier of these coconuts has
established a 20 years relationship with the temple management. Once a week, he supplies the
coconut while taking away the used coconut for recycling. The used coconuts are later sent to an
oil company located in another area nearby. Again, as in the main recycling activity, the temple
management does not take any profit from this activity. It is a win-win situation where the
supplier provides coconuts to the temple and the temple consistently returns the used coconuts
back to the supplier. Beside this, the archanai (flower offerings to God in the form of fruits and
coconuts)

are kept by the Iyers (person in charge of prayers in the temples) for record. After 20
years, the Iyers will then send the archanai to be recycled. The temple also reuses the malai
(garland of flowers)

used during prayers. Twice a day the malai will be changed and the unused
malai will be given to the devotees.

Every year, the temple also faces increased waste management challenges during the celebration
of Thaipusam, with thousands of people gathering around Batu Caves to celebrate the festival. In
order to solve the problem, the temple management usually offer tenders to low budget
contractors to clean the area during this busy period. The contractors would then collect the
recyclables and make profits for their own use. However in the past 2 years, the temple has also
worked closely with other partners to organise a recycling campaign during Thaipusam,
involving young volunteers from all walks of life. The initiative is called Sampah Masyarakat
(Community waste) and it has a simple philosophy that cleanliness only takes a small effort. This
is the first ever initiative in the country to conduct a massive clean-up operation for a Hindu
festival. The partners include two companies and an NGO.


19

3.3.3. Islamic community of Surau al-Husna

Surau Al-Husna is a small mosque that has been established for the residential community of
Section 20, Shah Alam in the state of Selangor. The surau has been built to provide a place for
the Muslim community in the neighbourhood to conduct prayers and other religious rituals, share
religious knowledge and to gather for religious activities. Surau Al-Husna started its recycling
programme since July 2005, and this has become a permanent feature in the surau ever since. The
recycling program was initially proposed by one of its committee member, Mazlan Idrus who has
a professional background in environmental management. Mazlan also act as the coordinator of
the recycling programme -- where he leads the coordination of related activities, from setting up
of recycling facilities and collection schedules, to recruiting volunteers. The recycling
programme also enjoys strong support from the imam and other members of the surau committee.

Activities of Surau Al-Husna recycling programme take place in the compound of the surau. The
recycling bins were provided by the local municipality, while recycling operation are organised
by the mosque committee members. Residents from the nearby areas, both adherents and non-
adherents, are encouraged to donate their recyclable items by sending them to a recycling point
within the surau compound. Accepted recyclable items include paper, plastic containers, metal
items, books and electronic devices. Since the public are not asked to separate their recyclable
items, the surau committee periodically organises a gotong-royong (collective social activity)
with the community to segregate recyclables from the mixed waste and to sell them in bulk to a
recycling company. Usually the gotong-royong is conducted on the fourth Sunday of every
month. Flyers, banners and word of mouth are used as a way to promote participation in the
recycling activities. This has proven to be effective as the recycling programme has received
encouraging community support, even from nearby neighbourhoods. The mosque has also
improved its recycling operations in many ways. For one, the recycling committee no longer has
to send the recyclables to the recyclers. As their relationship with their recyclers strengthened, the
recyclers themselves have agreed to collect recyclable items directly from the surau, saving time
and money for its management.

In addition, Surau Al-Husna has also increased the amount of collection by expanding its
recycling operations to a nearby all-purpose community hall. A recycling company has been
given permission by the surau to coordinate this extended portion of the recycling programme,
20

with some portion of the proceeds to be donated to the surau. Other than this, with the help of the
local municipality and a local politician, Surau Al-Husna has also diversified its recycling
activities through the collection of used cooking oil. A special store room has been built for this
purpose and the collected oil is then transported and converted into biodiesel by a private
company. The proceeds from all of the recycling activities are used for the surau renovation and
repair work and also to fund various religious activities.

5. Findings

Empirical evidence from this research has demonstrated the various ways in which selected
religious communities are conducting successful recycling programmes. The main features of
their programmes are summarised in Table 3.

Table 3:
Features of recycling activities conducted by selected religious communities in Malaysia


Features

Batu Caves
Temple
(Hinduism)

Surau Al- Husna

(Islam)

Beautiful Gates

(Christianity)

Tzu Chi Association

(Buddhism)


Period of
recycling
programme

10 years
(2000)

5 years
(2005)

6 years
(2004)

15 years
(1995)

Waste
collection and
segregation
facilities


A few sets of
recycling bins


2 recycling points;
1 set of recycling
bins

1 recycling point (every
month);
1 set of large recycling
bins at Beautiful Gates
building;
50 sets of recycling
bins; 1 recycling
centre; 3 lorries

150 recycling points
every month,
7 recycling centres
Type of
recyclables
collected
Paper, plastic
containers, glass,
aluminium cans;
cardboard.
Paper, plastic
containers, glass,
aluminium cans;
electronic devices;
iron; used cooking
oil
Paper, plastic
containers, glass;
aluminium cans;
clothes, furniture;
electronic devices
Paper, plastic containers;
glass, aluminium cans,
clothes, metal items,
electronic devices.
Final
sales/handling
of recyclables
Handled by the
municipality
Sold to private
recyclers
Buyers visit centre to
buy recyclables; Sent
and sold to private
recyclers; Sold in a
thrift shop and flee
market.
Sold to small and large
private recyclers.
Motivation to
recycle
Environmental
protection
Environmental
protection; Charity
Environmental
protection;
Charity
Environmental
protection;
Charity;
Cultivation of spiritual
lifestyle
21

Use of
proceeds from
the sales of
recyclables
-Not relevant-
(activity is totally
non-profit)

As a source of funds
for the maintenance
and repair work of
the surau and other
religious activities.
As a source of income
for disabled workers
and as additional funds
to maintain activities in
the Beautiful Gates
centre.
As a source of funds for
charity and relief work
under the Tzu-Chi
association.
Human
Resource
Temple supervisor,
temple cleaners and
volunteers.
Surau committee and
volunteers.
Disabled staff members
of Beautiful Gates, with
some assistance by
volunteers.
Volunteers with some
support from the
association.
Organisational
structure
Temple
management
Surau management
(small mosque)
Christian centre for the
disabled
Movement of volunteers
with support from Tzu
Chi Association liaison
office.
Leadership
(and role
model)

- no information- Initiated by Mr
Hamzah, a surau
committee member.
Good support from
Imam and surau
committee.
Initiated by Pastor Sia
Siew Chin, founder of
Beautiful Gates.
Initiated by Grand
Master Cheng Yen in
Taiwan. This inspired
many Tzu Chi volunteers
in Malaysia to set up
their own programmes in
various neighbourhoods.

Continuous
improvement
Organising large
scale volunteer-led
recycling campaign
for days with high
generation of
waste.
Deployment of
recycling bins and
recycling points;
more long-term
arrangement with
recyclers to collect
and buy recyclables;
recycling of used-
cooking oil.
Deployment of
recycling bins and
recycling points;
placement of recycling
bins nearer to
household; setting up
more permanent
recycling centres; more
long-term arrangement
with recyclers to collect
and buy recyclables;
Deployment of recycling
bins and recycling points;
placement of recycling
bins nearer to household;
setting up of more
permanent recycling
centres; more long-term
arrangement with
recyclers to collect and
buy recyclables.
Support from
other
organisations
Local municipality
Private sector
NGOs
Local municipality
Local politicians

Local municipality;
Foreign foundation;
Churches;
Embassy of Japan
Local municipality
Resident association;

Community
outreach

Visitors to the
temple.
One neighbourhood
in Selangor.
Some neighbourhoods
around Petaling Jaya
and recently expanding
in other parts of
Selangor.
Various neighbourhoods
around Selangor.
Source: Various.

However, how can this empirical evidence provide answers to the potential role of religious
communities in enhancing recycling experiments in Malaysia? Based on the analytical
framework presented earlier, the paper will try to answer this question by identifying features of
the recycling programmes that has demonstrated instances in which the social structure of the
religious communities have facilitated the development of the three internal niche processes
that characterises good transition experiments.


22

5.1. Voicing and shaping religiously inspired visions and expectations for recycling

As a social group, the activities by religious communities are inspired by altruistic, communal
and spiritual visions and expectations. As a whole, all of the religious communities included in
this research started with the initial premise that recycling is an environmentally responsible
action and therefore it should be adopted and encouraged by the community. In fact, each
religious community has its own worldview on the relationship between human beings and the
natural environment, and the important role and responsibility of their community in
environmental conservation. Islam and Christianity emphasise the role of human beings as
vicegerent or stewards of nature, Buddhism stresses on the oneness and co-existence with nature;
while both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in the idea of Karma, where an act of goodness
towards nature will sow goodness in return.

Nonetheless the unique socio-religious features of each religious community can also provide
some diversity on what drives them to conduct the recycling programme. In addition to
environmental ethics, another religious driver connected to recycling is the act of charity. Indeed,
the act of charity and religion is very closely connected, irrespective of traditions. In three of the
cases, proceeds from the recycling are being used for the purpose of charity in some way or
another. In Surau Al-Husna proceeds are being used to improve the surau as a community area, in
Beautiful Gates proceeds are used to help the disabled while in Tzu Chi, proceeds are being used
to fund relief efforts in different parts of the world. Therefore, even though recyclable items are
sold to generate revenue, these are not used for individual profits, but for the greater good of the
community. However, in the case of Batu Caves Temple, their activities are totally non-
monetary.

Interestingly, in addition to the two visions, the Tzu Chi Buddhist community has gone a step
further by taking recycling as a part of a spiritual lifestyle that needs to be taken seriously by the
Tzu Chi volunteers. In this, cultivating discipline to recycle (in addition to reduce and reuse of
waste) as a part of everyday life is considered as a noble spiritual practice for its adherents.
Perhaps, this deep motivation for spiritual growth is the main reason why the recycling
programme conducted by the Tzu Chi volunteers has grown much faster than any other initiative
in the country. It might also explain the high level of dedication and proactiveness of their
23

volunteers to set up and manage their own recycling programmes in their respective
neighbourhoods, even with limited administrative support.

Interestingly, all of the programmes has no restriction the recycling programme should not only
cater their own religious community, but any nearby community at large. Hence in terms of
public outreach, collectively the religious community the potential ato encourage broad public
participation in recycling. This can be seen at various levels be it at the level of a community
associated to a house of worship (Batu Caves Temple) and nearby neighbourhood (Surau Al-
Husna); or to communities in various areas within a municipality (Beautiful Gates Centre) or
even to communities in a large number of neighbourhoods in various areas around the state and
country (Tzu Chi Association). This is because even though the management of their recycling
programme are very specific to the members of their religious community, each programme
accepts recyclables from all members of the general public, regardless of creed.

5.2. Building new social networks for recycling through existing institutional set-up

One of the possible reasons on why the religious communities are able to ensure the
sustainability of their programmes is partly due to the established institutional structure in which
they operate. Religious communities, be it Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism, in their
own unique way, have different forms of formalised establishments and deeply ingrained rituals,
which in turn could be used to strengthen their recycling programmes. For instance, the role of
houses of worship such as mosques, temples and churches are very central to a religious life. This
is the place where worshippers of each religion congregate and where many community-based
religious activities are conducted, be it in terms of religious worship, education and acts of social
service. In this study, one could see the use of such platform, particularly in the case of Surau Al-
Husna and the Batu Caves temple. Both the surau and the temple have their own management
structure and this provides a strong platform for managing the recycling programmes
systematically. In Batu Caves temple, the temple supervisor has the authority to instruct the
cleaners to collect the recyclables and to set-up suitable facilities for their operation. While in
Surau Al-Husna, the initiator of the programme enjoys good support from the imam and he is
also a member of the suraus management committee. From such position, it is easier to include
recycling as a part of the suraus activity.

24

Other than houses of worship, religious communities also have other forms of organisational
structure. For instance, the Beautiful Gates Centre is a small centre under the umbrella
management of the Malaysian Chinese Methodist Church, and it was established for the specific
reason of helping those with disabilities. The centre has its own management structure and its
activities has been developed in such a way that the centre can assist disabled people to be more
independent in their lives. It is under this overarching objective of helping the disabled that the
Beautiful Gates recycling programme has been designed and managed. On the other hand, in the
case of the Tzu Chi Association the recycling programme is governed by a hybrid organisational
structure combining both centralised and decentralised style of management. The decentralised
part is the bottom-up approach of using Tzu Chi volunteers to set-up independent recycling
programmes in their own neighbourhood. Each of these programmes is unique and is based on
the activity of a group of Tzu Chi volunteers in a particular area. However, these scattered
voluntary groupings are also supported by the centralised Tzu Chi administration, especially in
terms of the provision of general resources, information, socialisation and training. Other than
this, the Tzu Chi volunteers are also able to gain ideas, lessons and inspirations from other Tzu
Chi volunteers conducting recycling initiatives in other parts of the world. This is possible
because the Tzu Chi association offers very comprehensive communication channels to its
volunteers, be it through local and overseas training, websites, television programmes (Tzu Chi
Da-Ai TV channel), books, monthly magazines, blogs, and newsletter, among others. However, it
is important to note that this type of arrangement is unique to the Tzu Chi Association and quite
atypical compared to other religious communities, even among Buddhist groups. In fact, the
Taiwan based association is a relatively new religious grouping and was only founded in 1966. It
originated as a breakaway from traditional Buddhism, in the sense that it emphasises action and
social practices more actively than other groups (Ting, n.d.). In fact, from this action-oriented
emphasis of their religious philosophy the act of recycling itself is considered as a deep spiritual
practice and each Tzu Chi volunteer is required to practice recycling as a way of life if they are to
be true to the teaching and example of the Tzu Chi Master.

5.3 Continuous learning to develop a recycling programme that caters the unique
circumstances of the community

It is clear that the religious communities have undergone a learning process to increase their
knowledge about recycling not only in terms of technical design and infrastructure, but more so
on how their recycling programme can be integrated effectively within the social needs,
25

preferences and cultural meaning of their respective community. This is proven from the fact
that the recycling programmes by the religious communities are quite systematic, and tend to
cater to their unique circumstances. In the majority of the cases, the religious communities
mainly employ the communal collection system for their recycling programme. Basically, this
system takes material from households to the collection points and then the collectors will collect
the waste from the communal storage (Agamuthu, 2001, p. 41). In these cases, the collection
points/communal storage will either be the religious building itself or dedicated recycling
centre/area/large bins that have been set-up by the religious community for this purpose. These
are mostly a characteristic of recycling programmes that are aimed to cater to a residential area or
neighbourhood, as in the case of Surau Al-Husna, Beautiful Gates Centre and Buddhist Tzu-Chi
Association. In this type of system, the rate of collection will increase once members of the
neighbourhood are familiar with the location of the recycling points and therefore able to
routinely send their recyclables. Whilst in the case of the Batu Caves temple, the objective is a bit
different. Its main purpose is to manage recyclables for temple operations, especially waste
generated by the large number of visitors (including tourists) to the temple. This a bit
complicated, as visitors come and go, and unlike the permanent characteristics of a
neighbourhood, it is much more difficult to establish a regular routine in this type of community.
Therefore, their modus operandi is much more dependent on the collection of recyclables by
cleaners at different parts of the temple. During big events such as Thaipusam, the temple also
requires support from volunteers to help them with this laborious collection process.

Other than systematic collection, all of the religious communities do ensure that the wastes are
being segregated into the right categories. How this is done depends on the facilities and
sometimes the routines already well-embedded in each religious community. For instance, in
Surau Al-Husna, the monthly communal practice of gotong-royong has also included waste
segregation as a part of its activity. Similarly, Tzu Chi Association has also used the waste
segregation activity (which is done immediately on the day when the recycling points are set up)
as a part of its routine social spiritual activity. This is to encourage young and old volunteers
from all walks of life to get together in conducting meaningful action for the greater good of the
community. While in the case of Beautiful Gates, segregation activities are mainly conducted by
the disabled staff in the centre who were already well trained for the task. In the Batu Caves
Temple, this is carried out by the cleaners.
26


Once the recyclables are collected, all of the religious communities tend to use the services of
private recyclers to deal with their recyclables, either by sending the recyclables to the recyclers
and/or by making arrangements for the recyclers to collect the recyclables at their premises.
However, in the case of Batu Caves temple, most of their recyclables are collected by the local
municipality as they do not expect any monetary returns from the recycling activities. This non-
profit and non-residential characteristic of the Batu Caves temple recycling programme also
affected the type of recyclables that are eventually collected. Compared to the other religious
communities, the temple limits their collection to paper, cardboard, plastic containers and
aluminium cans while the other communities would also include broader categories of
recyclables such as clothes, electronic devices, furniture, iron and used cooking oil for their
higher monetary value.

Other than learning to conduct systematic recycling operations, the religious communities are
also able to sustain their recycling programme over a prolonged period of time. All of the cases
have shown that the religious communities recycling programmes have not only been operating
for more than 5 years, but over time, these programmes are also strengthened through continuous
improvement and diversification of their recycling operations. For instance, in most cases the
communities began their recycling programme with one recycling point or one set of recycling
bins in a particular area, but over time this has graduated into bigger initiatives and/or much more
permanent facilities. This includes increased deployment of recycling bins and recycling points in
more areas around Selangor, placement of recycling bins at locations nearer to households,
setting-up of more permanent recycling centres, organising large scale recycling campaigns for
events with high generation of waste and more long-term arrangements with recyclers to collect
and buy recyclables. In some cases, the communities have also conducted additional activities
that are much specific or unique to the needs/objectives of their community like the recycling of
used-cooking oil by Surau Al-Husna, the recycling of coconuts and malai used in religious
ceremonies by the Batu Caves temple, the search for more avenues to sell recyclables in order to
increase income for the disabled by Beautiful Gates, and the widespread expansion of recycling
points in more and more neighbourhoods by the Tzu Chi volunteers in their efforts to increase
awareness about the spirit of recycling.

27

6. Conclusion

This paper has provided some empirical evidence on the potential role of religious communities
to enhance recycling experiments for a more sustainable solid waste management. From the
viewpoint of our theoretical framework, we can conclude that religious communities have the
potential to play their role in enhancing sustainability experiments in recycling through their
ability to: (1) Voice and shape religiously inspired visions and expectations for recycling (1)
Build new social networks for recycling through existing institutional set-up, and (3) Learn to
develop a recycling programme that caters the unique circumstances of the community. The
findings the role of religious communities in enhancing environmental practices like recycling
need go beyond general idealism on the positive influence of religious teaching for environmental
protection (as emphasised in local literatures) - but due emphasis also needs to be in place to
appreciate the unique socio-religious elements of each community and how they can be useful to
support different aspects of a recycling programme/experiment. It is the latter that can provide
more concrete explanations on why religious ideals can be translated into practical actions, how
they can be executed on the ground and the extent of their impact. From the research findings,
one could begin to see that different institutional settings within each religion could provide
different types of support and orientation to recycling programmes. For instance, the institutional
set-up of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation has more far reaching impact compared to the other
religious communities due the multiplicity of their ethical visioning and the flexibility of their
organisational structure. It is also important to highlight here that although the institutional
structure of religious communities can be quite traditional in relations to religious activities; it
can be quite novel when it is being used as a platform to diffuse an environmental activity like
recycling.

It is important to note, however, that the findings in this paper are based on a very limited number
of cases, within the particular context of an urban community in Malaysia. Hence, the evidence in
this research can only provide early insights on the role of religious communities in enhancing
recycling experiments. In order to ascertain whether this idea demands further policy attention,
more investigation needs to be done in other contexts, covering more cases involving diverse
institutional structures within each religion, be it houses of worship, NGOs, associations,
foundations and even schools. Nonetheless, even with this limitation, we envisage that the
evidence presented in this paper could provide early evidence for policymakers to begin thinking
28

more tangibly about the role of religious communities in enhancing recycling experiments as a
locally relevant strategy to enhance sustainable transitions in MSWM at least in countries like
Malaysia where religion has strong influence in the social-cultural landscape and day-to-day
activities of public life.

Acknowledgement:
Our sincere appreciation to our research assistants, Miss Siti Maisarah (Islam), Miss Pei Sang
(Buddhism), Miss Jing Xuan (Christianity) and Miss Nagaletchumy (Hinduism) for conducting
preliminary work for this study and to the University of Malaya for providing the required
financial assistance.

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