Aidilfitri: N. Sembilan SWCorp disposes 6,069 tonnes of solid waste

SEREMBAN: Negeri Sembilan Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) has disposed of 6,069 tonnes of solid waste within a week of the Aidilfitri celebration until May 8 at three landfills in the state.

Its director, Siti Yusnita Mohamad Yusof, said the number had decreased compared with the Aidilfitri celebration last year, which recorded a total of 6,793 tonnes of solid waste being disposed of.

"Food waste contributed the highest volumes at 2,184 tonnes (36 per cent), and of the total, about 76 per cent of food waste can be avoided, such as rice, while another 24 per cent cannot be avoided, such as chicken bones.

"Seremban, on the other hand, recorded the highest amount of solid waste disposal, amounting to 4,643 tonnes," she told Bernama here today.

She added that to ensure smooth garbage collection and public cleaning during Aidilfitri, SWCorp came up with an operational strategy that includes 1,134 SWM Environment Sdn Bhd employees and 165 trucks and machinery from May 1 to 5 at 287 locations.

In the meantime, she said, the three solid waste landfills, namely in Port Dickson, Kuala Pilah and Jelebu, were still able to accommodate the total solid waste disposal from seven local authorities.

However, she said, the federal government is planning to replace Jelebu and Kuala Pilah landfills with new solid waste transfer stations in the future to ensure more systematic waste services and disposal as well as save land use.

"This transfer station serves as a temporary solid waste collection centre with collection vehicles such as compactors that will deliver solid waste from each district to the stations and reload them to large-capacity transport vehicles," she added.

According to her, the landfill in Port Dickson, built with the waste segregation and Waste to Energy (WTE) facilities, will be able to convert solid waste to energy (electricity) based on an eco-friendly solid waste disposal system and method, thus improving solid waste delivery services.

Meanwhile, she said, various methods were being carried out so that the public would reduce solid waste disposal, including through engagements and monitoring house-to-house to encourage them to implement waste segregation at the source, which was to separate food waste with recyclable items.

"Through segregation, households have the choice whether to sell recyclable items at the recycling centres or participate in the KITARecycle programme run by SWM Environment Sdn Bhd and dispose of the recycled items on the collection day," she said.

She also said that SWCorp has set up Drive-Thru Recycling Centre in Rembau and Port Dickson to facilitate the public bringing recycled items for sale.

-- BERNAMA