INTERVIEW “Even if we have the best of the laws, Malaysians will never succeed as long as they don’t change their mindset,” laments Alam Flora Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer Mohd Zain Hassan.

During an interview with Bernama he voiced his disappointment with some sections of society who live with a third class mentality and impede the country’s march towards developed status.

alam flora waste management 120609 06 Moreover, their reluctance to cooperate especially in regard to cleanliness is a serious setback for parties like Alam Flora entrusted with the task of keeping the environment clean.

“This is among the challenges that we are confronted with," he said when touching on society’s participation in managing the nation's solid waste.

    

Admitting that managing the nation’s solid waste is no easy task, Alam Flora entrusted with the task in the central region and the east coast of the peninsula is unfairly blamed when the garbage is not collected or when there is garbage strewn everywhere.

Moreover, Alam Flora’s work is not limited to collecting rubbish only but also in ensuring the cleanliness of playgrounds, bus stops, public places, drains, etc.

alam flora waste management 120609 02 “We in fact collect the rubbish in the morning, but by evening the rubbish has accumulated again giving the impression that Alam Flora has failed in its duty.”

So, who is to be blamed?

$“We even have gone beyond our limits in Kuala Lumpur’s hotspot of Bukit Bintang where we even clear the back lanes although it is not within out scope. We use water jets to wash the road but within half an hour the road is again littered with rubbish.

“Instead of wasting our time there, we could have carried out cleaning elsewhere for the benefit of a greater part of the community.

    

Third-class mentality

As for Mohd Zain, a significant portion of the consumers, business community and foreigners reflect third-class mentality in dealing with litter.

While the public often lament that Alam Flora had failed to collect their rubbish in time, he revealed collecting rubbish from home and business premises is not as easy as anyone thinks.    

alam flora waste management 120609 04 “Often the dumpster’s path is obstructed by other vehicles in the alleys and this problem is worst in areas of high rise dwellings. Some just park their vehicle at the rubbish collection point and this delays the collection work as the workers have to find the vehicle owner first.

“That is not all, there are eateries that dump food waste into the drain causing the drain to clog and some even illegally cover the drains with concrete making Alam Flora’s work more difficult.

“And the problem is further compounded by the presence of large number of foreigners with third class mentality who sleep, urinate and defecate in public places, on the roads and even bus stops.  

alam flora waste management 120609 01 “There is a big number of foreigners in Kuala Lumpur, it is the enclave for people from Burma, Vietnam, Nepal and others further compounding the litter problem in the city.”

Leachate is a problem that can only be overcome with the cooperation of the public.

This is because many still throw wet food or domestic liquids into the bins without filtering them out.  

“For your knowledge, one tonne of rubbish contains 150 liters of water. Just imagine, we collect 27,000 tonnnes daily so there is big volume of water.

“We hope that the public will filter the liquid food before dumping it in the bin,” he said.

Awareness programme

    

Thus the problems relating to waste management can be traced back to the society and therefore Alam Flora is taking a proactive role in creating greater awareness in the public.

Moreover, the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) makes it mandatory for the public to segregate the solid waste and recyleable material and failure to do so warrants action by the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (PPSPPA).

alam flora waste management 120609 05 He said PPSPPA has to enforce the law immediately to ensure the success of the privatisation instead of a two-year grace period.

“Recently, Alam Flora held a meeting with a residents’ association to explain the implementation of the Act by PPSPPA.  

“We realise that the public is well aware of the privatisation of the solid waste management and they feel that it is the right step,” he said.

In ensuring greater outreach, Alam Flora also conducts activities with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Act is to encourage the public to adopt 3Rs - ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ - which in turn will reduce the cost in managing solid waste at disposal sites.

“The concessionaire cannot go on its own. The enforcement of the Act calls for the participation of all parties to ensure the desired outcome is achieved,” he said.

- Bernama