Inovasi Komuniti Lestari took upcycling out of the lecture hall and into mosques, schools and housing communities across Seberang Perai. Between March and September 2025 the project ran 15 hands-on sessions at nine locations in Seberang Perai Utara, Tengah and Selatan, reaching about 470 people, many of them housewives and older women.
What people learned
- Soap from used cooking oil. Five workshops showed how to turn waste cooking oil into soap instead of pouring it down the drain.
- New products from old fabric. Six sewing workshops turned used cloth into bags and other items that can be sold.
- Circular economy roadshows. Three combined sessions at mosques in Tasek Gelugor, Bandar Perda and Nibong Tebal introduced recycling and the 5R habits to a wider audience.
The innovation competition
The project closed on 23 August 2025 at Kondominium Mutiara with the Pertandingan Inovasi Lestari, where residents entered 37 upcycled products. Judges came from UiTM Bertam, the residents’ association and Universiti Sains Malaysia.
What the team learned
- Hands-on, one-to-one teaching works, but it limits how many people each session can take. Reaching the target meant running more sessions and finding more volunteers.
- A limited number of sewing machines held back how much each group could make.
- Announcements through mosques and community groups did not reach everyone; different ages and communities need different ways of being invited.
What comes next
The team plans to take the training to more communities, and to open up places where participants can sell what they make, so that upcycling becomes a habit and a source of income rather than a one-day activity.
Partners: Universiti Sains Malaysia, UiTM Bertam, Penang Green Council, Harmonico, IKRAM, UPSI, PIFWA, the mosque committees of Tasek Gelugor, Bandar Perda and Al Rasyidin, and Persatuan Perumahan Kondominium Mutiara.
