title: Wen Shin Chia
text: # Wen Shin Chia
  
  Wen Shin Chia (born c. 1991) is a Malaysian environmentalist and entrepreneur.
  
  ## Early life and family
  
  Chia was born in Kuala Lumpur and raised in Selengor, Malaysia. She is the youngest among two siblings. Her mother died when she was 15 years old.
  
  Chia attended SMK Kepong.
  
  ## Environmentalism
  
  Chia earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Technology from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She decided to take it after noticing the increasing pollution in camping and hiking sites she used to frequent to. At her third year, Chia conducted a survey and found out that 90 percent of Malaysian households are oblivious on how to properly dispose cooking oil — a majority admitted to dumping it into sinks, drains and toilet bowls. Hence, Chia's university project was a community-based initiative in recycling cooking oils to soaps.
  
  Chia worked as a product development executive at an agri-chemical company for a few months before establishing Green Yards.
  
  ### Green Yards
  
  Green Yards is a social enterprise that recycles cooking oil to eco-friendly products and aims to reduce water pollution in Malaysia in return. Green Yards collects used oil from households, restaurants and markets. They give free soap per 5 kg of oil. In its first year, Green Yards was able to prevent 4.7 tonnes of cooking oil from being dumped.
  
  Green Yards also conducts recycling workshops.
  
  