Say no to polystyrene !

I would get pretty upset if I see my food served with polystyrene eateries.

I've noticed quite a number of times that, 3 out of 5 stalls at the makan places I always "haunt" are using polystyrene eateries.

Anyone who has even the most basic knowledge in environmental sciences would know that polystyrene is not environmental friendly and takes only-God-knows-how-many-years to biodegrade (that is, IF it's even degradable!).

Let's do some mathematics. Say, in Area S there are 50 stalls selling a variety of food. Out of these 50, 30 stalls are utilising polystyrene utensils. If one stall is able to sell a minimum of 30 servings per night (assuming that 1 polystyrene plate/bowl is used per serving), then 30 stalls would be selling 900 servings per night. Which means, at least 900 plates/bowls are being disposed of per night; 4,300 plates/bowls in a week; 27,000 in a month and 324,000 in a year (take-away polystyrene containers, plastic spoons, forks and bamboo chopsticks are excluded). Assuming that there are 10 eating outlets in Kuching City alone, then at least 3,240,000 plates/bowls will end up in the Mambung dumpsite per night.

Can you imagine the amount of polystyrene rubbish we Kuching people produce? I cannot find an exact photo of polystyrene utensils piling up, but I guess the photo below would suffice. Simply replace those big polystyrene boxes with polystyrene plates and bowls, and imagine yourself standing there looking at that pile of rubbish.

Still not convincing enough?

We cannot deny that polystyrene products in the food industry are considered sanitary, sturdy, efficient, economical and most importantly, convenient (source). However, at the same time, polystyrene is found to be not environmental friendly, and worse still, it could be a health hazard:

1. Toxic chemicals leach out of these products into the food that they contain. These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems.
2. These products are made with petroleum, a non-sustainable, heavily polluting and disappearing commodity.
3. The product does not biodegrade. It crumbles into fragments that have no expiration date.
4. A certain percentage of product will be dumped in the environment, persisting on land indefinitely as litter and breaking up into pieces that choke and clog animal digestive systems in waterways.
5. The product takes up more space in landfills than does paper and eventually will re-enter the environment when landfills are breached by water or mechanical forces.
   
   (source)

We as Earth's residents are responsible for all kinds of environmental pollution, which in the end affect us in return. For the food stall operators who still prefer to use the polystyrene -- please stop being so selfish. For customers who prefer to take away their food in polystyrene containers -- perhaps you would consider bringing your own container; it's more hygienic and you have less rubbish to be thrown out. For those who enjoy sitting down and enjoying the food right there and then, we can avoid ordering food from those using polystyrene utensils, or better still, bring our own utensils.

For more information on plastics and polystyrene: Polystyrene Fact Sheet, Dangers of packaging chemicals getting into food.

On the road? Be responsible.

I've been trying my very best to contain my anger and dissatisfaction, but I don't think I'm able to do that any longer... please allow me to say this...

To ALL drivers in KUCHING who practise dangerous driving, young and old alike... YOU SUCKS!!!

Oh well, I'm not saying that I'm a good driver or my driving skill rocks, but at least I'm a responsible driver and I abide by the traffic rules. And at least I'm not like some drivers who couldn't care less of the other drivers on the road.

You see, if you encountered injuries or even death because of YOUR own carelessness, then I couldn't be bothered because YOU DESERVED IT after all. You pay for your own recklessness. However, if your carelessness inflicted injuries and, the worst of all, death upon the other road users, then... YOU ARE GUILTY OF MURDER, and you may (oh you SHOULD!) regret for the rest of your life as long as you live.

So how did you like the video above? Inspiring, I hope?

These are the types of drivers I particularly HATE with ALL MY HEART:

1. Those who couldn't be bothered to signal before overtaking. So, those signal lights are there to beautify your car?

2. Those who overtake others when the traffic light ahead has already turned red, and they still end up waiting for the light to turn green. So what's the point of overtaking when you're just one car ahead? IDIOTS.

3. Motorcyclists who drive right in the middle of the road or/and those who are not to the left nor at the middle of the road... You guys are giving us a hard time and causing traffic jams! Not only that, I have to specially look out for you when you're around, just to make sure that I have enough time to stop if you lost balance and fell. You're the last person I ever thought of running over!

Of course, there are a lot more to the list above.

If each driver has other road users’ interests at heart, I believe everyone would have been extra careful when driving on the road and the most horrible accident could have been avoided.

Please, people, don’t be so selfish. If you want to reach your destination in one piece, so do others. You don’t own the road. Besides, I’m sure you don’t want to spend extra money repairing your damaged car because of accident, which you could have avoided but you didn’t due to your own carelessness. And you don’t need to be rude too. What’s wrong with practising courtesy on the road? I’m sure that wouldn’t burn your arse.

It’s NOT FUN at all to put other people’s and your own life at stake.

If you really like to speed, then please go to the indoor Go-Kart in Pending, by all means. It is THE SAFEST PLACE for you to speed, to drift, to race against others, and at the same time to de-stress.

Enough said. I wish you all a safe and accident-free journey everyday. Oh, and see you at the indoor Go-Kart.


[I found these two Malaysian websites to be pretty impressive: Safety Tips-Road Safety and Pandu Cermat – Malaysian Road Safety Blog. The latter allows readers to leave comments and they have quite interesting discussions too. Worth a visit.]

An Appeal for the Stray Cats and Dogs

Calling all animal lovers! My friends in Kuala Lumpur need help badly. They do not have enough fund to support the stray dogs and cats they have rescued, and this is already the third month they are not able to pay for their shop rental. Below is the letter of appeal from the owners.  Please help them any way you are able to!  I thank you in advance, on behalf of my friend.

Dear Friends

We are 2 of many individual rescuers who rescue stray animals. We started with 1 animal and then 2 and then more and more, and then …… out of control. The number has now ballooned to 240 dogs and cats. We are now facing SPACE constraints, MONEY constraints, LABOUR constraints, etc., etc., to take in any more animals. Nevertheless, we are still taking as we cannot stand to see them walking the streets and running the risk of being cruelly treated/inhumanely caught by evil dog-catchers. Most importantly, we want to work with other genuine rescuers and animal lovers, and in our small way try to reduce the stray problem. Strays are not strays by choice. They are still God’s creatures.

It is our fervent wish to have a piece of land to start a no-kill shelter to house the strays and provide them a safe refuge. We want this to be a place where people and animals can interact, with the eventuality of the animals being adopted. This requires financial means and resources as the animals have to be vaccinated, neutered and fed.

God has been very good in somehow letting us meet up with Mrs Kam and the Operafest again. Mrs Kam, without hesitation, offered to start the ball rolling by holding a charity concert in aid of these stray animals. Mrs Kam herself is a rescuer and she understands our plight.

We now humbly appeal to you to help us in our cause for the strays:

1. We need a piece of land to start the shelter and we’re willing to pay reasonable rental for it. Anyone has unused land to spare?
2. Do buy tickets and come for the Operafest Children's Choir concert on 20 December 2009. Please sponsor generously to help us help the strays.
   

If you want to know us better, please visit our website: http://www.tailsunlimited.com.

God bless you for your generosity and compassionate heart for strays.

Amy / Ruth
(Tails Unlimited)

The sample  ticket of the Children's Choir; costs RM30/ticket.

You may also contact them through email and on mobile phone...

Mobile: 012-3815932 / 010-2939282

Email: info@tailsunlimited.com   |   scl1996@hotmail.com

If you are residing in Kuala Lumpur, or you happen to be in Kuala Lumpur on business trip or on vacation, please go to the concert at Best Western Premier Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jln Putra (opposite the Mall), 8.30 p.m. on 20 December 2009.

A preview of the performance of the Operafest Children's Choir.  Not bad, aren't they? Again, I sincerely ask for your help; please help them to help the cats and dogs!