SEBERANG JAYA – When taking out the garbage at Seberang Prai, you might want to smile, as your picture could be taken by a trash detection camera.
Seberang Prai City Council (MBSP) mayor Datuk Seri Rozali Mohamud announced at a press conference today that they will run a “Catch You” operation to detect illegal dumping of industrial rubbish at communal bins.
From the original 242 permanent closed-circuit television (CCTV) – of which 25 are equipped with video analytics – four new solar-powered mobile CCTVs has been installed at Bagan Belat, Paya Keladi, Kuala Bekah, and Permatang Nibong.
“This intelligent waste monitoring solution is to help identify the reason behind the overflow of trash at these villages.
“There are a few issues that can be solved once we get the data from these CCTVs, one of which is the illegal dumping of rubbish by small industries that causes the mobile garbage bins (MGB) to fill up quickly, as well as how residents are just throwing their rubbish beside the MGBs and not inside it,” he said.
With the new CCTVs, it will immediately identify the vehicle number plate, the offence, and – if possible – the culprit’s face. The data will be analysed at the server level and notifications will be sent to MBSP to take necessary action.
Rozali explained that these small business operators must get their own contractors to get rid of their industrial rubbish directly to the Pulau Burung landfill or the Ampang Jajar Solid Waste Transfer Station.
“Rubbish collected has increased by 8%. Industrial rubbish has increased by 20%, and domestic rubbish has decreased by 7%.
“Based on our calculations, two 600 litre MGBs and one 300 litre MGBs should be enough, therefore we need more data to check if the rubbish generation has increased. Right now, there is an overflow of 300 litres.
“If it really has increased, we will not add more MGBs; instead, we will increase the frequency of rubbish collection to two or a maximum of three times a day. We also need to create more awareness for residents to sort their trash,” said the mayor.
There are currently 1,039 locations on the mainland with MGBs, and 183 are found to be overflowing even though the collection is done daily.
From the identified spots, 99 are from Seberang Perai Utara, 72 from Seberang Perai Tengah, and 11 from Seberang Perai Selatan.
Rozali said that he has gone undercover to observe the habits of those who throw rubbish.
“I see that some people, instead of throwing rubbish in the bin, they put it next to the bin. The next person comes and does the same thing. When the third person comes, he sees so much rubbish, he would just throw it from where he is, so he would not be near the overflowing bin.
“At the end of the day, the bin is not actually full, but the rubbish is overflowing,” he said.
When looking into this situation, he added that awareness banners will be put up to remind residents to dispose of rubbish correctly.
In villages where residents are considered to be more religious, they will add quotes by Prophet Muhammad so they will be inclined to do what is right.
Razali said using advanced technologies to solve current issues is one of the ways to advance Seberang Jaya to be a smart city. – The Vibes, July 17, 2021
