KUCHING: Every home will produce waste which later goes into the trash bin.
Some days later, the rubbish will be collected and disposed of, thus ensuring the neighbourhood is spick and span.
So imagine if this does not happen.
This is where companies such as Trienekens (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd come into play, providing this essential service, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing movement control order (MCO).
Since the MCO was enforced, it is estimated that an average 400 tonnes of waste have been collected by Trienekens’ waste compactor teams throughout Kuching, covering residential and commercial areas.
Closure of businesses equals less waste
Speaking to Suara Sarawak in an email interview yesterday, a Trienekens spokesperson stated that throughout the MCO period, there was a reduction in the amount of garbage collected due to many shops and businesses being closed.
Most of the waste collected during this time was mostly domestic waste, resulting from the daily activities of people staying at home, complying with the MCO.
Looking at Trienekens’ role in the community, which provides garbage collection as a basic and vital service to the community, its operation continues to function as normal.
Precautionary measures
The spokesperson also revealed that Trienekens viewed the safety of its workers as a priority and thus, it had taken safety precautions by supplying each employee additional personal protective equipment (PPE), anti-bacterial soap and hand sanitisers.
“We also carry out disinfection in offices, company facilities and vehicles from time to time. Additionally, we also set up isolation and administrative measures.
“All staff have been given guidelines, awareness and advice on social distancing, Covid-19 symptoms and prevention, proper ways of using PPE, identifying Covid-19 emergency hotlines and so on,” he said.
Municipal waste from each local council area
For garbage collection operations, Trienekens explained that this would start from 12am to 10pm, which included not only garbage collection, but also treatment and disposal operations at the Kuching Integrated Waste Management Park located in Mambong, which is scheduled for different periods for its employees.
“Most of our collection team start working between 4am and 6am daily, and the collection covers all areas under the Kuching North City Commission (DBKU), Kuching South City Council (MBKS), Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) and parts of the Serian District Council.
“Trienekens’ waste collection operations are also divided into two categories ― municipal solid waste and hazardous waste. The Trienekens compactors are responsible for collecting municipal waste only and they cannot collect hazardous or scheduled waste,” said the spokesperson.
Of course more precautionary measures are taken and practiced by Trienekens staff as their work is also one of high risk, exposed to various challenges during the collection process.
Fortunately, Trienekens has not faced any problems or challenges during the operation so far. However, the spokesperson did not deny that the operation team sometimes faced small obstacles due to some suppliers affected by the MCO.
Dispose PPE items properly
In the meantime, Trienekens advised the people of Kuching to maintain good hygiene in residential areas by managing their waste well and not dump garbage everywhere, to prevent any health issues.
“Residents are also advised not to throw face masks and gloves everywhere as they are likely to endanger the health of the people and may pollute the environment. It is advisable for them to throw the items into garbage bags and then securely fasten and dispose of them in garbage bins.
“Put the garbage in the bin so that it can be easily collected and emptied by the workers and use the bins which we provide, and if possible, we want the concept of recycling waste materials such as plastic bottles, paper, aluminium and so on, to be practiced by members of the public,” the spokesperson added.
