Story by Amanda Khong
TAMAN Desa Relau 2 had the official launching ceremony of the waste segregation at source project on April 17 at Relau, Bayan Lepas.
Exco for Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Chow Kon Yeow was present at the event.
Also present were Paya Terubong assemblymember Yeoh Soon Hin, Chairman of the joint management body of Taman Desa Relau 2 Lim Aik Keong and Penang Island City Council (MBPP) councillors.
“Penang has achieved an average of 32% recycling rate which I am proud to say is the highest in the country. The state government and MBPP have been working towards creating a cleaner and greener Penang through various waste reducing methods such as the 5R which stands for reduce, recycle, reuse, rot, and refuse,” said Chow.
Currently the only waste dumping site available in Penang is Pulau Burong in Southern Seberang Perai and there is a daily average of 1,700 tons of waste being sent there.
This year, MBPP has set aside RM95.64 million just for handling solid waste and public cleanliness.
The waste segregation at source project is a positive initiative by the state government to mitigate the total waste at Pulau Burong.
As of June 1, the segregation at source policy will be implemented by the state government.
“We do not expect everyone to comply with this new policy immediately but we do hope that people start practising now to make it easier for everyone when the policy is implemented. Although we now have the highest recycling rate in Malaysia, it is still important to educate and encourage everyone about segregation at source,” added Chow.
Chow said that the public would be given one to two years to familiarise themselves with the concept before any penalty is imposed.
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