IPOH: The house of a habitual hoarder here has been cleared more than four times in the last four years.
In the latest clear-up on Thursday (Nov 7), the Ipoh City Council collected 710kg of rubbish in three lorries during the four hour operation.
The woman, who is in her 70s, lives with her husband who is believed to be suffering from Parkinson’s disease in a single-storey house on Jalan Merpati in Ipoh Garden.
Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin said the woman continued to collect recyclables, and kept it inside and outside her house.
He said the operation started at 8.30am, and it took workers four hours to clear the area consisting of materials made out of plastics, paper, wood, and iron weighing in a total of 710kg.
“The woman has been brought to court twice, and fined in the last four years.
“We have advised the woman to contact a recycling centre to sell the items, instead of collecting the items and keeping them at her house,” he said in a statement issued Thursday (Nov 7).
He said all the items collected have been sent to a recycling centre at the IGB industrial area with the consent from the house owner.
He added that the company had paid the woman according to the weight of the items.
“If she continues to carry out such activities, the council will take stricter legal action,” he said.
In May, The Star reported that the woman's house porch was littered with broken flower pots, plastic bags, old hangers, carton boxes and bottles, among other things.
A neighbor interviewed then had said that the couple were among the first to move to the residential area about 30 to 40 years ago.
“She was not always like this but a few years ago, she started collecting recyclable items and leaving them on the porch.
“There is just enough space for one person to walk out of the house. We dare not say anything to her out of concern that she may not take it well,” the neighbour had said.
Rumaizi said people can visit the council's economy recycling portal at htttp://www.mbi.gov.my/sumber/ekonomi-kitaran to get information on the list of recycling companies to sell such items.
