THE overwhelming amount of rubbish and indiscriminate dumping of solid waste in Selangor have affected KDEB Waste Management’s (KDEBWM) work schedule, the company says.
When the schedule is not followed, waste is not collected, causing dissatisfaction among ratepayers.
KDEBWM managing director Datuk Ramli Muhd Tahir said the company’s core duties were collection of domestic waste and public cleansing.
He said workers would collect domestic waste as scheduled and it was difficult to divert resources as a result.
However, he said when KDEBWM received a complaint of uncollected waste from a place where collection had been done earlier, it would have to evaluate the situation before deciding to make a second trip.
“A second trip requires the lorry to go back to the landfill. During peak hours, it is even more difficult,” he said at a press conference in Menara Bank Rakyat, Shah Alam.
Ramli was commenting on StarMetro’s report titled “City losing its lustre” on March 28 as ratepayers complained of uncollected rubbish and the dirty environment in Subang Jaya and Puchong.
“KDEBWM collects domestic waste three times a week at landed houses, while commercial zones and strata properties have a collection daily regardless of the location in Subang Jaya.
“Bulk waste is collected three times weekly in residential and commercial areas,” he said.
Ramli also advised traders to liaise with Subang Jaya City Council to engage private operators to collect construction waste.
He also expressed interest in collaborating with Subang Jaya residents and business associations to keep the streets clean.
KDEBWM Subang Jaya branch head Fauzan Hushim said if a local councillor or assemblyman forwarded a complaint about uncollected waste in their areas, action would be taken almost immediately but the schedule would be disrupted.
“If KDEBWM misses a scheduled collection, the city council will issue us a notice to correct, charging us RM250 per collection.
“We cannot risk collecting waste outside of our job scope.
“A three-tonne lorry can only carry so much and after two or three visits in different locations, the lorry will be filled to maximum capacity.”
Fauzan said the firm had doubled collection frequency in Bandar Puteri Puchong from 30 to 60 times a month.
“The commercial area in Bandar Puteri Puchong is large with many businesses, so we need to make additional trips because the rubbish there will accumulate quickly.
“We make at least 40 trips monthly for areas such as Kampung Kenangan and Kampung Tengah in Puchong,” said Fauzan.
He said a single location usually required 30 trips a month.
“The contractors sweep the commercial areas around 7am daily,” he said.
The rubbish in Subang Jaya, he said, was mostly construction waste, adding that the reason for the large amount of rubbish in the area was the large number of businesses in the commercial areas.
Fauzan said KDEBWM did not have the authority to fine litterbugs and those caught would just be given a warning.
Source: The Star