FOR the first time, Christians, Buddhists and Muslims have come together to raise funds for needy Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students in the South West district by collecting recyclables.

The project, involving City Harvest Church, the Singapore Soka Association and a group of 13 mosques in the south west, is on its way to exceeding its target of raising $60,000 too.

The three religious groups, each aiming to raise $5,000, have rallied their followers into donating old newspapers and clothing, which will be sold to a recycling company. An anonymous corporate sponsorhas donated $15,000 to the cause, and the South West Community Development Council (CDC) will match the funds raised dollar for dollar.

Representatives from the religious groups said the project to amass 16,700 kg of clothing and 45,500 kg of paper is meaningful as it marries care for the environment with helping the needy.

The beneficiaries of the funds raised from the sale of the paper and clothing, about 600 ITE students from ITE College West, come from families with household incomes of $1,500 or less. They will each get at least $50 for school expenses.

The South West district is big on recycling. Separately, thousands of households in the district's 16 divisions took part in a recycling exercise yesterday in which recyclables were exchanged for food. For every 3 kg of clothes or fabric turned in, residents received a coupon for a kg of rice; every 2kg of newspapers got them a pack of instant noodles.

Senior dispatch master Osman Sinwan, 43, whose family turned in 28 kg of unwanted items, said: 'It keeps the house clean. We have a place to dump the items and we get something in return.'

South West District Mayor and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said she was glad more households joined in this year, especially since most of the divisions were already on a weekly 'Cash for Trash' programme.

The National Environment Agency said the 1 1/2-year-old programme, run in tandem with the South West CDC and grassroots groups, had by last November given out $350,000 and collected 2.1 million kg of waste.