45,000 tonnes of rubbish collected after floods

This field in Hulu Langat serves as a temporary waste transfer station before the rubbish is sent to the landfill.

SOME 45,000 tonnes of rubbish was collected in the post-flood clean-up by KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd as at Jan 4.

These included damaged household items that had been collected after the floods in Shah Alam, Hulu Langat, Sepang, Kuala Langat and Klang on Dec 17 and 18, said Selangor local government, public transportation and new village development committee chairman Ng Sze Han.

The amount of rubbish collected is similar to the weight of 25,000 adult elephants.

Ng said KDEB had collected 31,000 tonnes of waste in Shah Alam when cleaning works in areas such as Taman Sri Muda began a week ago after floodwaters subsided.

He expects the first round of waste collection to be completed on Sunday.

“There are many others involved in waste collection efforts so the amount of rubbish collected should be more.

“We understand the people’s predicament of wanting to repair their belongings instead of throwing them away.

“Those who want to throw away their damaged items are urged to leave them outside their houses, as rubbish is being collected constantly,” said Ng.

He said KDEB contractors made frequent trips to clear rubbish.

“Waste is sent to the transfer station before being moved to the landfill,” he added.

Ng also said that Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and KDEB contractors were working at night to ensure effective collection of rubbish in areas such as Taman Sri Muda.

“Some of the affected areas are commercial areas.

“It is difficult for garbage trucks to navigate in commercial areas during the day, so the contractors go at night to pick up waste.”

He said the Selangor State Disaster Management Unit was working closely with the relevant district offices to monitor the flood situation.

“District offices will send out early warnings not limited to flood but also other disasters.

“They will also coordinate closely with the armed forces,” said Ng, who thanked the many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who assisted flood victims to clear rubbish.

“I hope the NGOs can assist by sending rubbish to the transfer stations instead of throwing them into roll-on roll-off bins in the neighbourhoods.

“This will be of great help to waste collectors in speeding up the rubbish disposal process,” he added.

Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei, who lent a hand in Taman Sri Muda and Kampung Bukit Lanchong, said flood victims were in need of high-powered water jets to get rid of mud in their homes.

“Some still need petrol-powered water jets because they don’t have power supply. My team also sent two water tanks for cleaning purposes,” she said.

Meanwhile, Shah Alam deputy mayor Mohd Rashidi Ruslan said 13 out of 21 localities affected by the flood in December had been cleaned up.

Eight areas are left and they include Padang Jawa, Kampung Baru Hicom, Taman Sri Muda, Kampung Lombong, Kampung Kebun Bunga, Jalan Kebun and Kampung Bukit Lanchong.

Rashidi said progress in each of these areas was over 70%.

“We have used more than 1,500 lorries, 317 heavy machinery such as excavators, road sweepers and backhoes for the clean-up.

“Phase two will take place from Jan 10 to 20 as we expect there will be more rubbish to come.

“We will maintain the number of assets to help in phase two,” he added.