Big haul: Onn Hafiz (fourth from right) looking at plastic bottles that were collected by the log booms placed in Sungai Skudai.
JOHOR BARU: A new eco-friendly landfill is expected to be introduced in Pasir Gudang to ensure more sustainable ways of managing waste in the state, says Johor Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.
The Johor government has received applications from three companies to manage the project, but no decision has been made on the matter so far, he said.
“Our current plan is to upgrade the Seelong sanitary landfill in Kulai into a modern landfill while waiting for the Bukit Payung sanitary landfill in Batu Pahat to be completed at the end of this year.
“Both of these landfills will use more environmentally-friendly ways of disposing waste and turning it into fertiliser, which is much better compared to the traditional way of burying them,” he said when met by reporters after the Sungai Skudai Cleanup Programme that was launched by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi at Taman Impian Emas here yesterday.
Mohd Jafni said this when asked to comment on the recent fire that occurred near Kampung Tanjung Langsat last Friday.
Asked whether the government has any plans to shut down the Tanjung Langsat landfill, Mohd Jafni said the landfill has only been in operation for the past 10 years.
“It will take time, and a new environmental impact assessment will also be needed. So at the moment, our best option is to introduce a modern way of waste disposal,” he said, adding that each sanitary landfill usually has a 30-year life expectancy.
Last Friday, firemen were deployed to the scene at 12.46pm to douse the blaze at the landfill, which swept across more than half (2.83ha) of the 5.2ha landfill site, he added.
Meanwhile, on the programme, Mohd Jafni said some 1,000 squatter homes had been identified by the state government to be relocated to a new housing project under the Johor State Housing Development Corporation (PKPJ).
“We need to relocate the residents from the squatter homes so that we can reduce the pollution at Sungai Skudai,” he said.
Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz said Sungai Skudai would be a Class 2 river within the next two years with the introduction of its Special Area Plan development project.
“There are 10 high-impact projects under the plan that have been outlined to be completed by 2030.
“This includes the relocation of squatters to a new area, eradication of illegal dumpsites, upgrading the gross pollutant traps, and reducing greywater discharges into the river.
“We will also introduce Sungai Skudai as a new landmark under the Sungai Skudai Eco Park and Sungai Skudai Bio Wetlands project,” he said, adding that this was similar to what the state has done for Sungai Melayu in Iskandar Puteri, which has been turned into an eco-tourism product.
“We also wanted to ensure that this 52km-long river is clean and lifted up from its current Class 3 to Class 2 within the next two years, and that it becomes a nationwide example of what our collaborative effort can achieve.
“The public should also be made aware that rivers such as Sungai Skudai are valuable assets for the state so that they do not throw rubbish into the rivers,” he added, saying there were at least 500 rivers in Johor.
The Environment Department has five classifications of rivers, with Class 1 being the cleanest, while a Class 5 river means it is so polluted to the extent that it is not suited for any use.
