KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Bernama) -- Local authorities and Ramadan bazaar traders in several states of Peninsular Malaysia are taking initiatives to reduce food wastage by organising awareness campaigns and donating to mosques.

In PENANG, the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) is organising the Zero Waste Challenge Programme @ Ramadan Bazaar with the Penang Green Educators’ Workgroup (GREW) to promote waste-free shopping practices.

MBSP mayor Datuk Azhar Arshad said that adopting zero waste practices encouraged the community to appreciate Earth's resources in preserving the environment, besides raising awareness that apart from plastics, even food wastage contributed to environmental pollution.

"Through this campaign, we encourage the public to reduce the use of plastic straws and single-use plastic items at Ramadan bazaars," he told Bernama today.

Meanwhile, a Bernama survey at the Ramadan bazaar in Presinct 3, PUTRAJAYA, found that the majority of traders planned their food preparation and sales quantities carefully to avoid wastage. Some even took the initiative to donate their sales to mosques and surau.

Nur Faizura Mohamad, 37, who sells chicken rice and ‘ayam golek’ (oven-grilled chicken), said that the daily response at the Ramadan bazaar would be monitored to plan food sales accordingly, ensuring minimal wastage.

"Alhamdulillah, the response for chicken rice is good, so usually, there are not many unsold items. If there are any leftovers, it's usually just around 10 packs. Even then, we either distribute them among other traders or sell them at half price," she said.

Another vendor, known simply as 'Mak', 58, who sells ‘asam pedas’ dishes, mentioned that because food preparation was done at the bazaar itself, wastage was minimal for her.

"We cook here, so there isn't much wastage. If there are any leftovers, it's just a few bowls, and we share them with other traders. Depending on the crowd, if it's busy, we cook more, and if it's slow, we don't cook as much," said Mak, who has been selling at the Ramadan bazaar for five years.

In KELANTAN, the ‘bilal’ of Masjid Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra, Nik Azim Nik Abdullah, said that the mosque also conducted a campaign urging traders to donate unsold items to the mosque.

"We have made posts on our Facebook page urging traders not to waste food by donating unsold items to the mosque. However, the response to the campaign has not been encouraging. We believe that either the traders have sold out their food or have chosen to donate elsewhere," he said.

Meanwhile, Gua Musang District Council assistant secretary Wan Mohd Afiq Wan Alias said that they handled over 20 tonnes of food waste discarded by traders at the Gua Musang Ramadan bazaar.

"Based on the waste collection conducted every night at the site, the garbage bins are usually nearly full. The amount of food wastage at the Ramadan bazaar is about three tonnes per day," he said.

-- BERNAMA