Now in its third year, Mondelēz International Malaysia’s flagship sustainability initiative continues to build recycling awareness among young champions.
Mondelēz International proudly announced the successful conclusion of its Trash Right 2025 programme, marking the third consecutive year of its in-school based recycling initiative in Malaysia. Last year, 12 participating schools across Selangor, Wilayah Persekutuan, WP Putrajaya and Negeri Sembilan collectively collected more than 23 metric tonnes of recyclable plastics, reinforcing the program’s growing influence in nurturing environmentally conscious young Malaysians.
The recent closing ceremony was attended by En. Mohamad Yusran bin Mohamad Yusoff, Assistant District Education Officer of Seremban, alongside representatives from participating schools and the programme’s strategic partners from PINTAR Foundation and Trash4Cash.
Trash Right has seen remarkable progress and scaling impact since its inception in 2023. The inaugural edition recorded 1.3 metric tonnes of plastics collected by a single pilot school in just 3 months, while the 2024 programme expanded to six schools in Selangor, achieving 14 metric tonnes of recyclables gathered in six months. These milestones underscore the programme’s steady growth and deepening commitment among students, teachers, and parents toward sustainable waste practices.
Now in its third year, Trash Right continues to empower students from Year 4-6 through engaging classroom competitions that encourage proper plastic segregation at home, recycling, and mindful consumption, fostering a long-term behavioural change and inspiring communities to adopt cleaner, greener habits beyond the classroom.
Teachers shared they have observed meaningful behavioural shifts among students throughout the programme. Hasnirita Binti Abd Ghani, a teacher at SK Desa Cempaka, expressed, “Through this programme, our students are gaining a much deeper understanding about recycling. It’s an effective and engaging way to teach children the value of recycling and how their small daily habits can collectively protect our environment.”
Students echoed the same enthusiasm. Zafirah Farisya, 11, from SK Desa Cempaka said, “I’m happy to be part of this programme. My friends and I always look forward to collecting the plastic waste to be recycled. It has helped me understand why recycling is important and how my efforts can make a difference.”
The programme’s success continues to be supported by strategic partnerships with PINTAR Foundation and Trash4Cash, ensuring that all collected plastics are responsibly processed and repurposed into eco-boards – a project between Mondelēz International and Trash4Cash – creating a lumber alternative that can be used for furniture and construction. This tangible outcome directly contributes to Malaysia’s growing circular economy.
Beatrice Wang, Corporate Communications Manager for Malaysia-Singapore and SEA, Mondelēz International said: “Trash Right is Mondelēz International’s signature programme across SEA with the purpose of nurturing the next generation of circular economy champions, and has been implemented in 5 countries. We are heartened by the collective support from the state education departments as well as the wider school community, and look forward to expanding the Trash Right programme together with our partners to more states.”
Mondelēz International’s Trash Right programme has evolved from a small pilot into a meaningful platform that nurtures young environmental champions. It vividly demonstrates how early education, and hands-on participation can drive profound, lasting change.
This initiative remains a cornerstone of Mondelēz International’s key environmental and social impact initiatives in Southeast Asia, supporting the company’s Snacking Made Right purpose through responsible snacking, community education, and sustainability-led programmes.
