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LETTER TO THE EDITOR EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES TO TREE-FELLING   As a Petaling Jaya resident, I am dismayed that the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has made the decision to cut down over 1,100 trees for the construction of the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (DASH).   Petaling Jaya residents were previously informed that only 160 trees were identified for felling to make way for the highway construction project. On 10 th April 2017, the MBPJ confirmed that 1,100 trees of varying sizes will be felled for the highway project. Concerns are now raised as to the final number of trees already felled and to be felled, the basis for the increase in the number of trees felled, how the earlier evaluation had been made and why the earlier number could not be adhered to, and who stands to benefit from the felling of the trees.   Despite the fact that the highway developer Prolintas is required to replant two trees for every tree felled, it is submitted that these tree-planting efforts h...

PENCINTA ALAM SEPTEMBER 2017 ECO KIDS COLUMN ALTERNATIVES TO DISPOSABLE CUTLERY AND PLASTIC STRAWS By Wong Ee Lynn. wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com     We all know that disposable items, be it diapers, party ware, straws, paper napkins and food takeout containers, are not good for the environment. Far too much energy and resources go into the manufacturing of these single-use products. Most of these products cannot be recycled or composted. Paper plates, plastic bags, plastic food containers, straws and plastic cutlery, even if they bear the recyclable logo (i.e. the triangular Mobius loop), are not accepted for recycling once they are contaminated by food, grease and water.   Further, the cost of recycling these items can be much higher than manufacturing new ones from scratch, since it would include the cost of collecting, sorting, washing and processing the used materials, which the manufacturer would not have to do when producing these items fro...