The Riiicycle booth which gathered 150kg of recyclables at the event.

The Value Food booth.

The students from the School of Architecture and Built Environment and their projects.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Waste-to-Value Day inspired participants to reevaluate their outlook on waste and sustainability.

The event combined education, creativity and social responsibility, encouraging participants to explore how waste materials can be repurposed.

One of the highlights was an exhibition by the School of Architecture and Built Environment, where students showcased furniture pieces made entirely from discarded materials found in their daily lives.

This included several inventive displays from modular chairs to a tyre repurposed into a table, fully demonstrating how design and sustainability can go hand-in-hand.

“Before this project, I never realised how much waste we produce every day. We often throw so much away without thinking, but now I see that most of it can actually be recycled or reused. I plan to continue recycling more after this experience and reusing where I can,” said Genna Fong, a Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Hons) student.

At the end of the day, the students will recycle their completed projects at the Riiicycle booth, further contributing to the circular economy and minimising landfill waste.

Riiicycle’s monthly Trash to Cash initiative, featured at the event, encouraged the wider UCSI Community to convert recyclable items into monetary value.

This campaign successfully gathered 150kg of recyclables, bringing the overall total to 1,600kg collected over four campaigns to date.

Alongside this, the Diploma in Architecture students hosted a booth selling handmade board games, some of which were crafted from recycled materials.

Through the fundraiser, they successfully achieved their goal of RM8,000, which will go towards supporting KAFA and refugee schools in replacing old and deteriorating furniture.

Adding to the event’s sustainability theme was Value Food, an app dedicated to reducing food waste by rescuing food that is unable to sell from hotels, supermarkets, cafés, retailers and food outlets at the end of the day and offering it to consumers at discounted prices.

This initiative is especially relevant as Malaysia generates an estimated 16,688 tonnes of food waste every day, a reminder of the urgent need for more sustainable consumption and waste management practices.

The event reflects UCSI University’s ongoing efforts to build an eco-friendly and sustainability-driven campus, nurturing environmentally conscious students who will lead the way toward a greener future.