Dr Sim (fourth left) launches the ‘Oober Recycle App’, witnessed by (from left) Triple-C Recycle Sdn Bhd director Cathryn Shan, MBKS councillor Mohamad Taufik Abdul Ghani, Chan, deputy mayor Hilmy Othman and MBKS city secretary Vincent Ang Cheng Aik.
KUCHING: A masterplan on Sarawak’s solid waste disposal would be revealed at the end of December, said Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.
According to him, the masterplan is a combined study between his ministry and the Ministry of Urban Development and Natural Resources.
“By the end of December, there is a masterplan about how to deal with all these rubbish issue for the whole of Sarawak. We are looking forward to it,” he added.
Speaking at the Environmental Awareness Week 2018 held at Kuching South City Council (MBKS) auditorium yesterday, Dr Sim shared with those present that the recent rehabilitation of a landfill in Sarawak would cost about RM10 million, and it is insufficient for Sarawak to have only one incinerator due to its massive land size.
He also pointed out the many difficulties in constructing a new landfill in Sarawak, as no one would want to have a landfill built close to their neighbourhood.
“Waste has to be transported by trucks to more than 100km away (from the city area) just to throw away the rubbish – causing traffic jams in the process,” he said, citing Kota Samarahan as an example.
He stressed that everyone, from all walks of life, plays a key role in contributing to a more environment-friendly city, no matter how big or small their contributions are.
On a separate note, Dr Sim commended fellow Sarawakian innovator Jeff Wee from ‘WormingUp’ – who recently won the top place under Retail Supply Chain category at the Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators Awards – for his environment-friendly approach in managing organic waste in Kuching.
Wee’s WormingUp Company is an agricultural consultancy specialising in farming of insects for effective organic waste management.
He said Wee’s innovation saved the local council hundreds of thousands of ringgit as the local council used to incur RM260 per tonne in transporting the organic waste to the landfills.
Dr Sim also commended MBKS for running activities meant to promote environment-friendly behaviours among Kuchingites throughout the year, and also for the launch of the ‘IPeople’ application in May to resolve complaints from the public promptly.
“A great city is how healthy the people live, (in terms of) the air, the environment and so on,” he said.
The event also held the launch of the ‘OOber Recycle App’ – developed by Triple-C Recycle Sdn Bhd – to assist environment-conscious residents place their collection orders for their recyclable items.