Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s bid to get Kepong residents to accept an an unwanted waste incinerator needs to start making sense or it will still smell bad, an opposition MP said today.

DAP MP Ong Kian Ming ( right ) chided the minister for rubbishing protests based on “half-baked facts” when many of the arguments put forth were based on the government’s own studies by the Department of Environment, KL Draft Plan 2020, the Auditor-General’s Report and even from Rahman’s own ministry.

Rahman told a press conference yesterday that he was convinced that an incinerator was safe and good, and can be placed anywhere, after making a visit to Japan.

Ong however counter argued that the minister had not really done his homework and did not tackle two main incinerator-related issues - bad smells and leachate problem - head on.

“One of the main reasons for the bad smells coming from the Taman Beringin Transfer Station is due to the leachate problem from the wet organic waste collected.

“The minister is silent on how the building of the incinerator can help in getting rid of the leachate problem. In other words, there is no assurance that the bad smells will disappear in Taman Beringin after the incinerator is built,” Ong said in a press statement.

Ong also questioned Rahman’s ( left ) illogical solution on using a “negative pressure chamber” to ensure no more foul odour is emitted from the Taman Beringin area, where the first of three incinerators would be tendered out soon for development.

“If this is the case, then it will be good news for the residents in Kepong who have had to bear with the rubbish smell coming from the transfer station for many years.

“But the minister is silent on how this negative pressure chamber will be built in the transfer station when there are no plans to shut down the transfer station when the proposed incinerator is being built,” Ong said.

‘How can the smell ever fully disappear?’

Noting that the so-called waste to energy plant would be built at a separate site than the Taman Beringin waste transfer station and that Rahman had confirmed that the incinerator would work side-by-side with traditional landfill methods,  MP for Serdang asked how the smell can ever fully disappear?

“Is it possible for a negative pressure chamber to be built at the transfer station without shutting it down? The minister has to clarify,” Ong said.

Ong also added that Rahman had falsely alleged that the Selangor government was also hot for an incinerator.

Ong said Rahman has merely misinterpreted a reply by Selangor exco member Teng Chang Kim to the state assembly that the Selangor government was studying different ways to tackle the mounting garbage problem.

The problem was being studied and an incinerator was also one of the ways being looked at but Ong pointed out that Teng, in his reply, had clearly said that landfill method remains the most economic and easy way.

A three-person task force comprising Teng, Dr Ahmad Yunus and Elizabeth Wong has yet to complete their general study on how to tackle waste, Ong said.