What to do with Kapar's mountain of trash?

Standing as tall as a flagpole, the trash heap spans a space estimated to be the size of eight football pitches, located near and under Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) transmission pylons. The illegal landfill has grown unchecked during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, better known as the movement control order (MCO). Smoke and haze would hang over the area constantly, causing nearby residents to complain of its effect on their health.

Bernama reported on the dumpsite in May and authorities moved in to take action. According to the residents, Kapar Member of Parliament Dr Halimah Ali had promised the trash would be gone.

Two months on, cleaning up the trash has shown to be a Herculean task with no easy end in sight. The Klang Municipal Council (MPK) has removed 400 metric tonnes of trash on top of the trash hill, using dozens of heavy vehicles to excavate and transport the garbage. But plenty of trash remains.

MPK Environmental Services Department director Zaireezal Ahmad Zainuddin told Bernama they could only remove the big pieces of trash, mainly those that constitute a fire hazard.

"There is still a lot of trash like shredded plastic or plastic resin there. It's hard to clear them because if we dig further, there's plenty of trash (buried) under them. The problem is there is too much trash," he said when visiting the site with Bernama recently.

Experts had previously estimated the amount of trash at the dumpsite ranged between 30,000 and 50,000 metric tonnes. The clean-up cost is likely to be in the millions.

Zaireezal said although MPK has no plans to clean up the rest of the trash for now, they have not given up.

"The problem is money. The cost of the clean-up is high," he said.

MONEY WOES

Because of the high price tag of cleaning up the trash, the local authorities are largely pinning their hopes on getting the 11 owners of the land on which the illegal dumpsite is located to take on the task. However, Zaireezal said they have not been able to contact the owners of three of the lots while the rest are still mulling their options.

Under the Environmental Quality Act 1974, "no person, unless licensed, shall pollute or cause or permit to be polluted any soil or surface of any land in contravention of the acceptable conditions specified under Section 21." Failing to maintain the land or using it for a different purpose makes the owners liable to a fine and forfeiture.

The Klang district land office has issued a warning letter to the landowners. One of the owners Tan Tiam of Kekal Sejati Venture Sdn Bhd received a notice dated May 24, 2023, warning him to clean up and dispose of the trash properly, provide evidence of the clean-up and restore the soil, among others, by Aug 22 (90 days from the issue date).

A Sime Darby Plantation Bhd spokesman told Bernama in a statement the company, which owns part of the land where the trash is, "is currently in discussion with TNB to resolve the issue of the illegal dumping as well as to restore and preserve the environmental integrity of the said portion of the land as soon as possible."

In an email, TNB said they have put up a closed-circuit television to catch any wrongdoing and will step up surveillance of the area, including using drones. They have also put up concrete barriers on the road leading to the illegal landfill to prevent further incursions. So far, they have not detected any illegal activity.

"We want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to address it. We will continue to work with the local authorities and clean up the area as needed," TNB added.

However, Tan is still adamant about not cleaning up the trash, saying the dumping was not his fault. He had filed a police report in 2020 when he first detected the illegal activity but said the MCO prevented him from following up and preventing subsequent dumping.

"It will cost at least RM1 million to clean up. I bought this land for RM100,000," said Tan, who was visiting the dumpsite with his son.

Interested parties and experts said undertaking the clean-up was more of an issue of political will rather than resources.

"The state government needs to have the political will to settle the problem," said Kapar MP Dr Halimah via WhatsApp.

Local council expert and lawyer Derek Fernandez told Bernama the Local Government Act 1976 allows the local authority to seal and enter the land and clear the waste immediately either as an abatement of the nuisance or health threat.

"The cost of cleaning the land can be recovered from the owner companies' assets and even from auctioning the land or seizing other assets of the companies after the judicial recovery processes," he said via WhatsApp.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia legal advisor Theiva Lingam suggested residents sue the landowners and local authorities for nuisance if not enough action has been taken and the dumpsite continues to pose environmental and health hazards to the community.

Zaireezal said there is no present plan of action should the landowners fail to undertake the clean-up of the trash in their respective lots past the due date. He added MPK is waiting for orders from above, that is, the court or the state or federal authorities before taking any other action.

But going through the legal system is a lengthy process and is unlikely to alleviate the ongoing environmental damage.

Bernama reached out to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change and Ministry of Local Government Development for comment.

A spokesman for the former said they will "get some feedback from the Department of Environment on this". The Ministry of Local Government Development asked for more time to respond.

NEXT STEP

Clean-up costs are one of the major issues of illegal dumping, which is why municipalities in many countries are strengthening prevention and community awareness as well as enforcement.

MPK, meanwhile, confiscated six trucks and fined their owners for illegal dumping in various parts of Klang in 2021 but did not prosecute the companies.

And while waiting for any action to be taken, solid and hazardous waste expert Prof Agamutu Pariatamby pointed out there was nowhere to go but up.

"If ... nobody is actually disposing of anything illegally now, at least you have won the first battle," he said.

Other than determining who is responsible and who will be paying for the clean-up, he said authorities should also be considering what method they should use to restore the land. Current methods are not sufficient or good for the environment.

He told Bernama half-jokingly that Malaysia's current method of cleaning up was "bulldozing the trash into the sea".

He added removing big pieces of trash from the illegal dumpsite, flattening the area and burying leftover trash under some soil may succeed in hiding the trash but was not an effective solution.

"It's soil pollution because this (illegal dumpsite) is not what you call a sanitary landfill, there is no liner at the bottom," he said.

Instead, he suggested Malaysia look into landfill mining, which involves excavating and processing solid wastes. The trash is sorted for recyclability for reuse as fuel and analysed for hazardous materials. He said the method was not readily available in Malaysia, adding he has not heard of any company doing so.

Bernama reached out to several land mining companies in Australia for more information.

Australian company Soilcyclers Pty Ltd spokesman Shelby Jackman told Bernama via email that landfill mining benefits include waste reduction and purposeful reuse of materials available.

She said after the waste has been sorted for disposal, reuse or resell, "the soil can then be tested by a soil scientist who can make the required recommendations so we can ameliorate the soil for reuse if possible."

Both Agamutu and Jackman said it would not be difficult for Malaysia to adopt the practice.

"It is a relatively simple operation once the machinery is all in place," said Jackman.

However, the cost may be prohibitive for most local councils which deal with small- to medium-sized dumpsites. For example, SoilCyclers charge about A$15 (RM45) per cubic metre, depending on the location of the site and the needs of the dumpsite and soil.

Agamutu, who is also an environmental scientist at Sunway University, said for now, landfill mining would only be worthwhile for projects that involve cleaning up a dumpsite that has been gazetted for development.

"Many of our illegal dumpsites are small. You won't be able to make money from landfill mining, they are too small," he said.