LETTER | First off, congratulations are in order for the Selangor state government for finally approving the Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) facility next to the Jeram landfill in Kuala Selangor.

This will include a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, a recycling plant, anaerobic digestion plant, compost plant, construction waste recycling site and a research and development centre. In all honesty, it is a brilliant plan that is long awaited in dealing with our issue of solid waste.

It clearly shows that even with the reduce, reuse, recycle (3R) programmes marketed by the state government, there is still a need for better waste management centres to make up for the three percent increase every two years.

At the same time, I am sure that this centre will be coupled with the Selangor waste sorting project which will ask residents to sort their household waste into two simple categories - recyclables and non-recyclables, rather than the hassle of the multicoloured plastic bag system implemented everywhere else.

This will be the second time a WTE plant has been mentioned this month - the first being a similar setup proposed in Taman Beringin, Kepong. Of course, neither of these are the first that will be completed.

The first integrated WTE plant will be in Bukit Merah, Port Dickson, which is already under construction.

National Solid Waste Management Department (JPSPN) director-general Ismail Mokhtar says that this in the final stage of the tender and will be announced by the end of this year.

The plant in Kuala Lumpur will generate enough electricity to power 57,000 houses for every 1,000 tonnes burned. According to a recent news piece, with 2,700 tonnes collected and sent to Jinjang Selatan daily, there will not be a shortage of trash.

I have yet to see the power production for the plants in Port Dickson or Kuala Selangor, but hopefully, these will also be able to generate sufficient power for households as well.

Disagreement 

WTE technology has, their detractors as well. Among their protests are the proposed KL plant’s ability to generate energy equivalent to the ones in Japan due to the lack of population.

However, it must be noted that the Japanese have 21 such plants, whereas we are only planning on having three plants, for now. Also, considering the fact that we generate an average of 1.9kg of solid waste daily compared to 1.1kg for the average Japanese, it is safe to say that there will be no shortage of trash.

Another argument made is that we should focus on recycling. Well, the Koreans recycle 45 percent of their trash, and they still have 35 WTE plants around the country.

Also, Ismail has said that the Jinjang Selatan station is at overcapacity at 2,700 tonnes.

At the same time, there needs to be more enforcement to undo illegal dumping sites as highlighted by Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, as well as the state of Selangor which announced it had discovered 166 illegal dumping sites.

Personally, it seems to me that there is a disconnect between the NGOs and the facts on the ground brought forward by JPSPN, the states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, and even other countries which have embraced WTE technology.

Perhaps everyone else is wrong and they are the only ones right. Who knows?

What I do know, however, is that we need integrated, long-term solid waste management plans. We need to rely less on landfills and move forward in both recycling and WTE technology in order to deal with the increasing demand on our waste management system.

We have delayed discussing this matter due to our continuous dependency on landfills, whereas our close neighbour city-state to the south has established four such plants to deal with their waste in perpetuity out of necessity.

The truth is, we are playing catch up. And with current technology, proper maintenance and even educating the general public on the importance to reduce, reuse and recycle in all shapes or forms, we will create a better future for ourselves, and the growing population of generations to come.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.