Hop on the bicycleDUAL ROLES: A shared

passion for recyclingand sustainability

led to a campaignwhich promotes

carbon footprintreduction and

healthy lifestyle in 'alocal university

SUZIEANA UDA NACiUsuzie@mediaprima.com.my

STUDENTS waiting for cam­pus buses in the morning isa common sight at Universiti

Putra Malaysia (UPM).Most would start lining up at the

bus stop at least half an hour beforelectures begin to avoid being late.

But a feasibility study conduct­ed by the university suggests thatstudents would get to class evenfaster if they were to walk or cycleinstead.

Vice chancellor Professor DatukDr Mohd Fauzi Ramlan says: "Ittakes a maximum of five minutesto either walk or cycle on campus.Riding the bus takes longer tha'nthat."

Yet only those from the facultiesof Medicine and Engineering do soat the moment.

In an effort to encourage morestudents to reduce their carbonfootprint and adopt a healthy life­style, UPM recently teamed up withCoca-Cola Malaysia to introducethe Recycle To Cycle programme,which allows students to rent bicy-

cles on campus using a points sys­tem.

All they need to do is drop offrecyclable items at designated col­lection centres in the university tocollect the points.

The project comes some 40 yearsafter Malaysia's first bicycle advo­cate Gurmit Singh began promot­ing the habit of cycling for mobility(see accompanying article).

The collaboration between UPMand the beverage industry giantgrew from their shared passion forrecycling and sustainability.

General manager (Malaysia­Singapore-Brunei region) GillMcLaren says: "We feel it is impor­tant to educate youth on recyclingand sustainability because theywill become role models as theymature. They will discuss the issuewith their families, which willmake the effort sustainable fromthe cultural perspective too."

McLaren believes UPM is deserv­ing of the RM7S0,000 grant fromthe Coca-Cola Foundation to carryout the two-year project because ofits status as the greenest universityin Asia.

UPM was ranked sixth among

9S universi­ties globallyin the Green­Metric WorldUniversityRanking 2010(Greep.Metric),behind Universityof California, Berke­ley,' the United States;University' of Nottingham, theUnited Kingdom; York University,Canada and Northeastern Univer-

sity, Boston, United States.The league table takes account

of tertiary institutions' commit­ment to ensuring sustainability,the size and area of their greeninfrastructure and efficiency inenergy use on campus.

In addition, they are also judgedon their adoption of green tech­nology, policy enforcement andsupervision of transportation and

sustainable waste manage­ment.

Although UPMdropped to 17th

and .19th plac­es in the lasttwo years, itremains theonly institu­tion in Asiato success­fully position

itself amongthe world's top

10 universitiesin GreenMetric to

date.The unIversity has

had some success with projectsinvolving cycling and recycling inthe past.

It takes a maximum offive minutes to cycle to class on UPMcampus.

CYCLESOF

CHAN'GE

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....

Good concept

Gurmit Singh' (pictured) peddling his bicycle onWorld Environment Day in 1979.

students in continuing to support thecause," he says.

"The incentive of renting bicycles mightnot be enough for some young people who.value cash more than points," he says.

The programme'soperation mecha­nism must also b~well-thought out forit to succeed.

"How long canstudents keep thebicycles? Can theybring them home?Does earning morepoints allow them tokeep the bikes longer?Who will be respon­sible for lost or dam­aged bikes? These aredetails that need to be

,'_ clear from the start,"he adds.

While Gurmit iscritical of the project,he applauds UPM'splans to introduce

separate bicycle lanes as he has beencampaigning for them in MalaysIa for along time.

He urges the university. to .not stopthere. _-

Besides bicycle lanes and secure park­ing spaces for bicycles, there should alsobe shower and changing facilities forcyclers, he says.

"These are a IIJJi1it for new buildings.I used to be emb'arrassed when I turnedup for meetings drenched in persPfrationbecause I couldn't shower," he adds.

Suzieana Uda Nagu'+ suzie@mediaprima.com.my

MALAYSIA'Sfirst bicycle advocate GurmitSingh used to cycle to University of Malayafrom his home in Petaling Jaya during hisstudent days some 50 years ago.

So it is little wonder that the environ­mentalist views favour-ably recent efforts bylocal universities topromote cycling oncampus.

Gurmit considersthe recently launchedRecycle To Cycle initia­tive by Universiti PutraMalaysia (UPM) andCoca Cola Malaysia "agood concept".

"It is timely as many ,cities in the developed

, world are aggressivelypromoting cycling formobility," says Gur­mit, who is also chair­person of the Centre forEnvironment, Technol­ogy and DevelopmentMalaysia.

Recycle To: Cycle is a bike-sharingventure which enables UPM students torent bicycles on campus using a pointssystem.

They need only drop off recyclableitems at designated collection centres inthe university to collect points.

It is hoped that this will inspire morestudents to reduce their carbop footprintand adopt a healthy lifestyle. ,.-

Gurmit considers the initiative 'com­mendable and would hate to see it fizzleout.

"There are many practical issues toconsider, starting with how to interest

Ahmad Ismail

Gill McLaren

+. - • # •• ~ ''''' ••

Mohd Fauzi Ramlan (right) leads students, 'faajf members and guests on tci short cycle around campus.

"Westarted promoting the use ofo,cycles on campus five years ago.Recycle To Cycle has reintroducedbicycles as a mode of transport tostudents," says Mohd Fauzi.

Biology department head pi.o~fessor Ahmad Ismail, a major pro­ponent of the campaign in UPM,considers it an important mile­·stone in the history of recycling inMalaysia.

"I do not know if any otheruniversity has done it befor~," hesays.

Universiti Sains Ma1<iysia, forinstance, had introduced a cyclingon campus campaign several yearsago but did not combine it with therecycling component.

Mohd Fauzi feels it is about timethat such a project was being intro­duced. The timing of the campaignlaunch is perfect as students hadjust begun a new semester.

"I hope that 3,500 students willwalk or cycle to class by Septem­ber," he adds.

The university community canalso expect a series of promotionalexercises all year-long.

"Preregistered student volun­teers will cycle on campus to gener­ate interest in the movement. Theywill also be on duty at the collec­tion centre located at the Biologydepartment," says Ahmad, a pro­fessor of Wildlife and Ecotoxicol­ogy.

The proper facilities must be inplace if the university wants stu-

d.ents to cultivate the w~lking orcycling habit.

"Bicycle lanes and walkwayswill be constructed around campusnext semester as an incentive forstudents to walk or bike," he says.

There will also be substationsalong the bicycle and footpathscovering residential colleges,academic buildings and places inbetween them.

Each will be located only oneminute apart by bicycle.

"This means that the next sta­tion is just a minute away if itrains," says Mohd Fauzi.

He hopes that the practice willeventually spread across the entirecampus. .

"This will not only reduce car­bon emissions but also vehicularaccidents," he adds.

The university intends toresearch into how the campaignhas affected students' health andwell-being before the two-yearproject ends.

"We hope to gather informationsuch as how much energy we have'saved and how students' health hasimproved from cycling daily," saysAhmad.

I! appears that the campus com­munity is responding enthusiasti­cally to the initiative.

"The number of volunteersincrease&,·daily. The managementstaff will cycle on campus every

..,.,;-~ -.....

Friday as part of the campaign. I'moptimistic that this will produce agood result," he adds.

McLaren foresees the pro­gramme carrying on for manyyears.

"Recyclable items which stu­dents leave at the centres will besold.a.od the money will be chan­nelled into the project," she says.

Mohd Fauzi expects Recycle ToCycle to go global.

"We already have a large net­work of international students oncampus. If they buy into this idea,they may return to their respectivecountries and replicate it. I! will setoff a chain reaction," he says.