Sinniah (left) with Alam Flora contractors outside an overflowing refuse room in Taman OUG commercial area. - YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
AUTHORITIES are fed up with the amount of rubbish being dumped in Taman Overseas Union Garden (OUG) commercial centre in Kuala Lumpur every day which poses a health hazard and is smelly.
Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) enforcement officer Sinniah Visvirnathan said the rubbish generated in the area was from commercial shops, restaurants, morning market traders, hawkers and nearby residents who dump their rubbish there.
He said it would take three full lorry loads to transport the rubbish to the waste transfer station in Taman Beringin every day.
According to Sinniah, the bulk of the rubbish was being dumped outside a refuse room next to the Medan Hujan Rahmat private carpark.
The area has turned into a rubbish hotspot, with even outsiders dumping their waste.
“We need three teams to clear the rubbish, and to make matters worse, the rubbish is not separated or placed into rubbish bags, but is emptied on the spot.
“Alam Flora cleaners have to pick it up and place it into their rubbish bags, and just imagine having to sort out rotten food and plastic waste,’’ he said, adding that it was taking a lot of their operation time.
Sinniah added that they were plans to manage the situation by installing CCTV cameras and placing signage warning people not to throw rubbish at the site.
“The management of the carpark will ensure that the refuse room remains locked and all the bins left at the site are removed,’’ he said.
To ensure that people stop dumping waste there, SWCorp officers will go door to door to engage with and advise commercial shopowners to throw their rubbish into bins, which must be placed in front of their shops.
“They have this mentality that they don’t want to see any rubbish in front of their property, so they don’t place any bins in front of their shops. Instead, they would dispose of their rubbish in other people’s property,’’ he said.
When StarMetro checked the site recently, the area was filled with plastic waste, polystyrene boxes, broken furniture, paper, durian skin, vegetables, all mixed up with rotting food. The stench was unbearable.
Sinniah said that commercial centres were still not separating waste and this was an offence under the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007.
He added that the agency would be meeting with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to seek its help with enforcement of obstructions placed in backlanes, in the area, that were hampering Alam Flora lorries and waste contractors from doing their job.
Meanwhile, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s secretary Alice Lan said the MP’s office was working together with DBKL and SWCorp to educate the business community in commercial areas in the constituency.
“We have seen so many refuse rooms in business areas that have become dumping grounds for rubbish, and the refuse rooms overflowing with waste,’’ she said.
“This is a health hazard and the community must take responsibility as the rubbish discarded exposes people and waste cleaners to risks of diseases.
Lan added that it was crucial for everyone, both residents and stakeholders, to understand the social, environmental and health impacts on improper waste disposal.
StarMetro had in July 7, 2023, reported that SWCorp was embarking on a mission to educate people and transform refuse rooms (known as rumah sampah) of non-landed properties and commercial areas.
The initiative seeks to address the prevailing issue of refuse rooms being misused by residents and the surrounding community as a dumping spot.
SWCorp Federal Territories director Ummi Kalthum Shuib had said the agency would be pushing for enforcement on separation at source to start Jan 1, next year.
Ummi added that since the separation at source programme came into force in September 2015, there had been more than enough time for people to put this into practice.
She said JMBs and MCs that were found not separating waste at source, would be issued with non-compliance letters.
Spot checks will be carried out until Dec 15 to ensure they adhere to the rules and regulations on waste segregation.
For landed premises, offenders will be fined RM50 for the first offence, RM100 for the second offence and RM500 for the third offence.
For non-landed properties, the JMB or MC can be fined RM100, RM200 and RM500, respectively.
After the third offence, legal action will be initiated.
