Neighbouring factories complained about illegal dumping on private land along Jalan Serendah 26/17 in HICOM Industrial Estate, Shah Alam.
PRIVATE landowners, especially those in industrial areas, have been urged by the local authority to protect their properties against encroachment.
This comes after rubbish that was illegally dumped at privately owned land along Jalan Serendah 26/17 in Hicom Industrial Estate in Shah Alam, Selangor, resulted in major environmental pollution that affected neighbouring factories.
In a statement to StarMetro, Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) said its Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Department had carried out inspections and monitoring at the location and found that a third party was responsible for the illegal dumping.
It said it had received a number of complaints in March and April from the surrounding factories.
“MBSA’s initial action was to close the site and put up an anti-littering banner at the location.
“It also informed the land owner of the encroachment and illegal dumping activities.
“MBSA issued a notice ordering the landowner to clean up the site,” the statement said.
From continuous monitoring, MBSA detected a lorry that dumped rubbish at the location. The city council issued a compound to the lorry driver under the Garbage Collection, Removal and Disposal by-law 2007.
MBSA also instructed the landowner to immediately clear the land and close the entrance to the location.
In addition, MBSA said the landowner had installed closed- circuit TV cameras to monitor movement at the site as a preventive measure.
A check by StarMetro last week showed that the affected site had been gated and locked.
StarMetro received complaints in April from workers in neighbouring factories about a putrid stench emanating from the said property, besides the presence of many large flies.
One of the workers, who declined to be named, said the factory canteen had been swarming with flies for more than a week.
“The stench was so bad that we could even smell it from the mosque located about 1km away.
“When the temperature rose in the afternoons, the stench from the site became worse,” the worker added.
An employee from a different factory lodged a complaint at MBSA on March 20, which prompted the city council to close off the entrance to the area.
“But we saw trucks still going in and out of the area to dump rubbish,” said the employee, adding that they saw MBSA and Environment Department officers visiting the site on March 29.
StarMetro visited the rooftop of a food-and-beverage company that operates its central kitchen from a four-storey commercial building facing the affected site.
“We have been operating here since 2021 and over the years, we have observed lorries dumping rubbish at the 2ha site.
“This year, the smell was so terrible which made us suspect there were rotting carcasses.
“The police even came with dogs to investigate.
“It is good that the rubbish has been cleared but we hope the authorities can conduct enforcement, because we are running a food-and-beverage business and need to adhere to hygiene standards,” said the employee who did not want to be named.
