Has Semenyih been designated the country's waste capital? The town is the site for the proposed mega-incinerator, dubbed as the biggest of its kind in the world, a sanitary landfill, and now a waste recycling plant.

Not surprisingly, residents in the area - about 40km southeast of Kuala Lumpur - are not amused.

The Department of Environment (DOE) has last month announced that it was seeking public comments on a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for a resource recovery centre/waste-to-energy (RRC/WtE) plant proposed in Semenyih.

The public has one month to respond in writing to the set of four volumes containing an estimated 400 pages of executive summary, two volumes of the main report and appendices.

Copies are available for viewing at the DOE library in Putrajaya, Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj), Kompleks Penghulu Semenyih, Kajang district police headquarters and all state DOE offices until Jan 15.

The report was first put up for public viewing on Dec 17 and the deadline for submitting written comments is Jan 29.

However, for those who want a copy of the report, it is available at RM1,000 per copy from the office of the project developer, Recycle Energy Sdn Bhd, in Semenyih.

Contacted yesterday on the hefty cost of the report, a DOE officer said the price tag was beyond their control as it was the prerogative of the developer, Recycle Energy Sdn Bhd.

Recycle Energy is 51 percent owned by Malaysian Mining Corp Bhd, controlled by business tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary with the remaining stake held by Core Competencies Sdn Bhd.

According to the DOE officer, a panel of experts would deliberate on the public feedback after the Jan 29 deadline.

"Since this is a detailed EIA report, the panel may take about five months to complete their study as per our client's charter, depending whether there is sufficient information," explained the officer, who declined to be named.

The EIA study for the 700-tonne plant, which will turn waste into fuel pallets, was conducted by Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Plant to replace dumpsite

Recycle Energy chief executive officer Dr Noor Hisham Ramly said the plant is scheduled to be ready by the end of this year.

"It is meant to replace the dumpsite currently managed by the MPKj in Sungai Kembong, Beranang, because it is almost full and is polluting the river nearby," he said.

"Once the plant is ready for operation in November, the council will shut down the dumpsite."

He said the municipality currently generates between 500 and 550 tonnes of solid waste a month.

Asked on the RM1,000 price-tag for the EIA report, Noor Hashim said the consultancy fee was very high.

"Yes, it is a bit steep. That's because we had to pay a lot of money to the consultants in Universiti Putra Malaysia for the EIA study. However, people can view the reports at certain venues if they want."

The plant is the third such proposal for municipal solid waste management in Selangor, particularly around the Kajang municipality.

The EIA for a sanitary landfill proposed near to the incinerator site failed to be approved by the DOE and had since been scrapped .

But a mammoth incinerator project in Broga, despite the same argument of being sited in a water catchment area, has been approved with conditions and continues to face protest from residents bent on stopping the RM1.5 billion project from starting operations in 2007.