TIME OUT: Ismail (left) signing off as state DoE director to Ruslan (right).
KUCHING: The use of green technology in palm oil mills has raised the level of compliance in the state to 93 per cent as of October this year.
Its former state director Ismail Ithnin said that since 2005, the number of palm oil mills had increased from 22 to 58. Taking into account that rivers were the main source of water in Sarawak, the level of effluent discharged was set at 20mg/l instead of the 50-100mg/l allowed in Peninsular Malaysia, he said.
“The level of compliance is improving from year to year. Green technology and environment-friendly approaches are widely practised to replace the traditional pond method.
“Polishing plants, membrane filter, microbe, dewatering decanter, filter press, compost and zero discharge contribute towards the ‘green milling’.”
Ismail said this in his final report as the director of the state DoE, where he began his service in 2005 until officially handing over the reins to his successor, Ruslan Mohamad, yesterday. He added that there were 3,670 premises or potential sources of pollution in Sarawak, where 65 percent were timber, mineral, food, drink and fabrication industries.
“Between 1,200 and 1,400 of the number of premises are visited every year for monitoring and enforcement purposes. Overall, 85 to 90 per cent of premises comply with our regulations,” Ismail said.
To date, the department has issued 43 compounds and took 11 cases to court.
“The major offences are open burning during the haze. Two or three cases are related to palm oil mills,” said Ismail.
Ismail is the sixth director to serve the state DoE. After seven years in Sarawak, the Negeri Sembilan native begins work today as chief enforcer at their headquarters in Putra Jaya.
Ruslan Mohamad was formerly with DoE Kelantan.