MIRI: The city council is looking to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills to prolong their lifespan.
Mayor Adam Yii Siew Sang, in a statement on Monday (Dec 21), said a recent visit to two waste management facilities —Sibuti Sanitary Landfill and Lambir Waste Transfer Station — showed that waste segregation was currently unsatisfactory.
“The council urges everyone to play their part to segregate and reduce wastage.”
He said the council would also improve the leachate containment pond at Lambir Waste Transfer Station.
“While waiting for the new transfer station to be ready, the council will design a long-term solution for the leachate pond.”
Yii also mentioned that the proposed construction of cell number 5 at Sibuti Sanitary Landfill would be prioritised in the list of projects to be implemented under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
“The objectives of the site visit is to see and experience first-hand the operations and maintenance of the waste management facilities and to contribute or give input for future improvements and developments.
“Apart from that, we also aim to identify the possible methods of waste reduction, either through active promotion of recycling activities or the intervention of new technologies to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill.”
Yii added that the study on Integrated Solid Waste Management in Miri for 2018 indicated that the waste composition in the city consisted of 39.8 per cent food residue, followed by 19.6 per cent plastic, 14.2 per cent paper, and 26.4 per cent other types of waste.
“Based on records, the council received 78,586.28 tonnes of waste in 2019, with an average of 220 tonnes of waste generated on a daily basis. This, if converted into monetary basis, the expenditure for the waste management (collection, transportation, disposal and treatment) is around RM17 million.
“Therefore, if 73.6 per cent of waste can be recovered and recycled via compulsory waste separation, the council can save an estimated RM12 mln, and use the money for other development purposes such as infrastructure development, etc.”
