UPM’s Recycle to Cycle project ensures green commute

Some 7,000 bicycles within the campus of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia provide students with emission-free transportation. Photo: Coca-Cola Malaysia

A fun and unique project to encourage students to recycle and reduce carbon emissions has turned Universiti Pertanian Malaysia into a green campus with some 7,000 bicycles owned by students.

The Recycle to Cycle or R2C project, initiated in 2013, encourages students to recycle and at the same time, adopt a healthy and active lifestyle. Students participate by recycling empty PET bottles and aluminium cans, in exchange for the use of bicycles and safety helmets. Proceeds from the sale of the recyclable items are reinvested into the programme to make it sustainable.

To get things going in 2013, UPM received a US$250,000 grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation. The project has contributed to UPM’s efforts to become a green campus by helping to reduce the use of private motor vehicles and increasing the use of cycling lanes. The original fleet of 200 bicycles is still available for lease via the recycling mechanics, managed by UPM’s department of biology

The next phase of Recycle to Cycle will see recycling and emissions reduction efforts intensified with the launch of the Red Cube, an environmentally friendly building featuring a rainwater harvesting system that provides water that flows continuously over the roof to cool the building.

Other design elements that keep the building green include solar-powered lights, fans and exhaust vents for cooling, and windows that take advantage of natural air flows to encourage ventilation. Plants outside the windows further cool down the air. The building will be used as a student activity centre.

UPM has reduced the number of buses on campus and the existing ones are now powered by natural gas. Students are encourage to cycle and walk, and a special installment payment scheme has been introduced to help students own bicycles. UPM has also reorganised the students’ accommodation facilities so that they stay in colleges closer to their faculty. Covered walkways enable students to walk from their hostels to lecture halls. – Coca-Cola Malaysia

http://www.star2.com/living/living-environment/2015/11/30/a-green-commute-at-upm/