GEORGE TOWN – Penang plans to change how rubbish is collected by specifying what type of waste would be collected for each day of the week.
It is part of a new strategy to compel each household in the state to segregate their daily dumping of solid waste.
Soon it will be divided into one specific day for one type of waste item only.
It means that the rubbish collectors will no longer collect all waste together as it will need to be separated by the ratepayers.
For example, waste collectors on Mondays would only take paper waste, Wednesday for food and plastic waste, Friday for steel and metal ware while the weekends are reserved for other types of municipal waste.
The details are still being ironed out, but Penang considers it a must to change its rubbish collection approach, said state Environment and Welfare Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh at a recent press conference.
This is to arrest the high level of solid waste that has been discarded through the past decade.
Phee said that it will soon be a must for rubbish collectors to specify what days would be reserved for what type of waste.
“We need to change as we are struggling to cope with the sheer amount of waste, made worse by the recent fire at the sanitary landfill at Pulau Burung.”
He said that the separation of waste must begin at the source, which involves the consumers.
Phee also said that the change in the rubbish collection method would compel consumers and ratepayers to be more conscious of what they are dumping.
It also enhances the state’s effort to move towards zero waste and a circular economy, driven by sustainable practices as well as the recycling and reusing culture.
The specific days for each type of waste would also help Penang gather the necessary data to effectively plan its future waste mitigation and management policies, he said.
“We need data to drive our future policies on greenery and sustainability.”
Earlier, Phee and his colleague, state Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari, greeted volunteers led by Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies chairman Abe Woo Sau Ping after they completed a clean-up of a tidal island, Pulau Gazumbo.
Abe was joined by the Penang Green Council general manager Josephine Tan Mei Ling.
The group took off on boats from the Penang Swimming Club in Tanjung Bungah to reach the man-made island off Penang Bridge to begin the clean-up on Saturday.
In total, they collected 768.4 kg worth of waste, especially discarded plastic items.
Phee said that the sheer amount of rubbish also confirms the state’s long-held suspicion that many of the waste drifting in the open seas near Penang were imported from other neighbouring states or countries by the sea currents.
He said that Penang will complete a study to determine if merchant and commercial shippers were responsible for polluting the ocean here. – The Vibes, February 28, 2022
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