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- On average, each person in Sarawak generates 0.8 kilogramme of household waste every day.
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- Julius Salok Kassy
KUCHING: On average, each person in Sarawak generates 0.8 kilogramme of household waste every day.
Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) controller Peter Sawal said the board made this finding in a study it conducted last year.
He also said the study found out that about 2,187 metric tonnes of municipal or household waste were collected and land-filled in Sarawak daily.
“This means that each person generated about 0.78 kg of household waste per day.
“In principle, the more advanced we are, the less household waste that we generate,” said Peter to The Borneo Post recently.
He hoped Sarawakians will generate less trash as the country progresses.
When met at the Kuching Integrated Waste Management Park (KIWMP) some 17 km from here, Trienekens (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd landfill manager Julius Salok Kassy said most of the wastes collected by the company were food or kitchen waste which constituted the major part of total household waste.
“About 40 per cent of the household waste are food or kitchen waste,” he said.
Trienekens which is responsible for waste collection for Kuching North City Council (MBKS), Kuching South City Commission (DBKU) and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) on average collects about 500 tonnes of household waste every day.
The waste will then be brought to its 112-hectare sanitary landfill at KIWMS to be disposed of by compacting.
On average, Kuching is generating about 200,000 tonnes of municipal waste annually.
“We started operating in 2004 and until today, we have collected 2.1 million tonnes of waste. With new housing areas coming up and new industries being set up, there has been a stark increase in waste disposed since three to four years ago,” said Julius.
He also pointed out that during the fruit season, the volume of waste would increase sharply – from 500 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes per day.
As for toxic waste, he said it is either disposed of through secured landfill or incineration plants and in both cases permission must be obtained from the Department of Environment which sets the guideline.
On wastes such as human tissue and syringes from hospital which are classified as bio-hazard clinical waste, Julius said they will need to be disposed of via the scheduled waste incineration plant which also disposes of other wastes such as industrial waste.
“For clinical waste, the waste will come with a consignment note. By referring to the consignment notes, we will dispose them accordingly,” said Julius.
Other hazardous wastes which are not suitable for incineration and ash from the scheduled waste incineration facility will be disposed of through secured landfill, he added.
Meanwhile, he said it is everyone’s responsibility to make Kuching a liveable city, and made some suggestions.
“Firstly, utilise the bins provided by Trienekens and don’t use the bins to collect water or store rice.
“In the beginning, some residents found the bins so nice that they thought they were too good to use for collecting waste. So they kept the bins to store water or rice and use other containers as garbage bins. I ask all our customers not to do that. Because if you don’t use our standard bins, then our staff will not be able to put them on the trucks to clear the garbage,” he pointed out.
He also advised that waste be segregated and packed properly in plastic bags which must be tied.
“Thirdly, for customers intending to dispose of bulky waste such as furniture or construction waste, contact us. We can go over to collect at reasonable rates.”
In addition, he said Trienekens would provide extra bins or containers during festive seasons such as Chinese New Year to accommodate extra volume of waste.
“To keep Kuching clean, we all need to play our part. Do avoid illegal dumping to keep our environment clean,” he advised.