Environmental Protection: The role of Daya Bersih cleaners

By Athiyyah Wan Ahmad Sukri & Ma Jinxiang

Environmental protection is a global issue that is gaining increasing attention around the world. In Islam, caring for the environment is the responsibility of all mankind. Therefore, community involvement in efforts to protect the environment is important to ensure environmental sustainability.

In addition, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN), Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) and Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and communities), emphasize the importance of community participation in maintaining a clean and sustainable environment. In this context, overcoming challenges and coming up with solutions are important in achieving the goal of protecting the environment.

In the Qur’an, there are many verses that call us to the preservation of the environment, and urge people not to harm the environment, so that it becomes clean. Allah SWT says:

وَلا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ [Al-araf: 56].

Several ahadith of the Prophet (ï·º) have ordered us to take care of the environment, for example, he said: œØ§Ù„طهور شطر الإيمان . Protecting the environment is closely related to maqasid shariah, namely preserving religion, life, mind, property, and offspring.

Community involvement in caring of the environment is a responsibility that is upheld in Islam. A cleaner is an individual who plays an important role in maintaining cleanliness and environmental sustainability. However, they also face certain challenges in carrying out their duties with attention to aspects of environmental care. Therefore, our study aimed to analyse the challenges faced by cleaners (working with Daya Bersih) in environmental care and offer solutions based on the Islamic perspective. It also highlights the importance of community involvement in environmental conservation efforts.

Challenges in caring for the environment by cleaners

Cleaning in large and high places: The cleaners in the IIUM mentioned they have never cleaned a place (the IIUM Gombak campus) as big as this one and in buildings far away from each other as those found on the campus. Even though they have been assigned a place for them to clean, they can be called by their supervisors to clean another place and they find it difficult to move to the next place. For example, they were assigned to clean areas in the mahallah (college) and then told to go to the mosque for their next job. This caused them to move from one place to another. They are also asked to go up and down stairs to clean places every day, for example, in mahallahs, offices and classrooms despite their old age. The challenge of moving waste using the elevator is that it will emit a bad smell causing lecturers, students, or the public to be uncomfortable with using the elevator so they need to use the stairs.

Clearing garbage daily without help: Every day, the cleaner will take out the garbage collected in all places. Even though it is their job, if we as the community do not help them surely, they will feel burdened. So, the community can help them a little by clearing tables after eating and making sure their rubbish goes to the bin. The cleaners also must be wary of animals lurking on campus because stray cats, monkeys and dogs like to rummage through garbage to look for food thus making a mess in the process.

Difficulty communicating with international students: The third challenge is that the cleaners find it difficult to communicate with some lecturers and international students because they cannot speak English which makes it difficult for them to tell anything or ask for directions and other information. This has led to the lack of social interaction between cleaners and international students and staff.

Lack of community awareness: Community awareness of the importance of caring for the environment is an important element in environmental care. Cleaners can be a source of knowledge and catalyse the spread of awareness in the community. They can deliver education on waste reduction, efficient energy use, and sustainable cleaning practices.

Solutions from the Cleaners Perspective

Dispose garbage in waste bins only and separate wet and dry garbage: We should not throw wet waste into the same bin as dry waste. The solution is to either throw the water from wet garbage into the sink or drain and/or separate the garbage altogether. This is to prevent the garbage from smelling and leaking especially when having to move the garbage from the top to lower floors of a building.

Separate non-recyclable and recyclable garbage: The community could put recyclables and non-recyclables in different bins. Recyclable garbage should not be placed with non-recyclable garbage. For example, plastic, bottles, food packaging containers, paper, and others that are recyclable should be put in a separate bin. This is to help the cleaner in separating the different types of garbage.

Keep classrooms, toilets, and corridors clean: As students, we can help the cleaner by maintaining cleanliness in the classroom, for example, do not eat or spill drinks in the classroom. If this happens, quickly, clean it, or ask the cleaner to help clean it to prevent dirtying classrooms. The cleaner would not know if the classroom is dirty unless you tell them. Also, flush the toilet after use. Also, do not throw garbage in corridors.

Cleaners play an important role in increasing community awareness and involvement in environmental care efforts

Education and Counselling: Cleaners can act as educational and counseling agents in the community. They have direct knowledge and experience in environmental care. By sharing information about the importance of taking care of the environment and informing us of practical actions that can be taken by individuals, they can increase community awareness about environmental problems and the importance of environmental protection.

Role Model: Cleaners who are committed to maintaining cleanliness and upholding environmental sustainability can be role models for the community. Through their responsible actions, such as sorting waste, using environmentally friendly cleaning materials, and using resources wisely, they can inspire others to follow in their footsteps in caring for the environment.

Collaboration with the Community: Cleaners can actively collaborate with the community in efforts to care of the environment. They can participate in joint environmental cleaning activities involving other community members. By joining together in joint initiatives, they can strengthen social bonds in the community and encourage active participation in caring for the environment.

Training and Construction: Cleaners can get involved in training and construction programmes related to environmental care. They can acquire new knowledge and skills about waste management, safe use of cleaning materials, and other sustainable practices. Then, they can share this knowledge with their co-workers and the community where they work, thus increasing their awareness and skills of environmental care.

Through their role in raising awareness and community involvement, cleaners can play a significant role in efforts to protect the environment. By mobilizing communities and promoting collective action, they can create a sustainable impact in caring for and protecting our environment.

To conclude, cleaners play an important role in caring for the environment from an Islamic perspective. The challenges they face in carrying out their duties can be overcome with awareness, community involvement, and sustainable practices. The proposed solutions should not only be practiced by the IIUM community, but it can benefit them because it is associated with maqasid shariah, which is to take care of their minds and themselves. Maintaining cleanliness is very related to these two elements of maqasid shariah because when we maintain a clean environment, we are able to work and study better without any interference. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to their roles and contributions in promoting environmental care and encouraging community involvement. ***

(As part of Synergised Academic and Student Activities, this article was prepared for the course RKFQ 4141A, Qadaya Fiqhiyyah Mu’asirah: Contemporary Juristic Issues (Sem 2, 2022-2023) after conducting interviews with the cleaners of Daya Bersih).