KUCHING: Every year local councils have to deal with some 718,456 tons of municipal waste which means having to fork out a tidy sum from their revenue to deal with the problem.
Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian fears with solid waste collection increasing each year this will have a negative effect on the financial resources of councils.
“The volume of waste collected by the councils is increasing every year, and local councils such as Kuching South City Council (MBKS), Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) , Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) and Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) need to spend a portion of their revenue to manage sold waste, which include landfill maintenance,” he said.
In this context Sim who is Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government said if no efforts were made to recoup recyclable materials, solid waste management would slowly eat up the councils’ financial resources in the long run.
“That being said, recycling is one of the many practices that should be embedded in daily practices.
“Waste reduction and recycling practices must be promoted to our local community in order to help in reducing the amount of waste diverted to the landfill thus reducing the cost of waste disposal,” he said.
He said this at a prize giving ceremony for the School Recycling Campaign 2022, Kuching and Samarahan zone at Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hianhere on yesterday (Jan 18).
Sim stated that various educational programmes on 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) practices in the community were needed to strengthen community awareness on environmental protection and reduction of waste in landfills.
“This philosophy is in line with one of three main pillars under the Post-Covid 19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030), which is environmental sustainability.
“The pillar is to ensure a clean and healthy environment for current and future generations,” he added.
Sim said the Ministry will continue to work with the councils to improve solid waste management.
“This is to ensure the implementation of sustainable waste management through a continuous improvement in reducing the amount of solid waste being sent to landfills and to achieve SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities under the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs),” he added.
A total of 111 schools participated in the recycling campaign, which was organised by the ministry, Fraser and Neave Holding Bhd (F&NHB), Department of Education Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, MBKS, DBKU, MPP, MPKS, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC), Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) and Sarikei District Council.
Also present during the ceremony was Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang, permanent secretary Datuk Antonio Kahti Galis, mayor of MBKS, Datuk Wee Hong Seng, chairman of MPP Lo Khere Chieng and deputy chairman of MPP Datuk Ahmad Ibrahim.
