MBPJ personnel monitoring the CCTV.MBPJ personnel monitoring the CCTV. — LOW BOON TAT/ The Star
MOBILE video cameras have detected 31 cases of illegal rubbish dumping at housing areas in Petaling Jaya this year.
Mayor Mohamad Zahri Samingon said these include 14 repeat offenders, 15 cases involving vehicles and two business premises.
Some 126 compounds were issued during this period from January to March 25, he said.
He added that each compound was for RM1,000.
Mohamad Zahri said Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) effort to eradicate illegal waste dumping through the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras has proven to be effective.
The initiative was rolled out under the PJ Watch Programme.
The CCTV is monitored from the watch centre at Menara MBPJ.
“We identify the locations that are hotspots.
“We instal CCTV and nab the culprit red-handed.
“In one case, the culprit was a teenage girl who would often dump household rubbish at a road junction.
“We issued a summons to her father and they never repeated the offence.
“Similarly there was a spot next to a field in SS2 that was often used to dump construction waste. We installed CCTV cameras and this forced the culprit to stop,” said Mohamad Zahri.
He said 43 rubbish hotspot locations have been identified.
“We have 12 mobile CCTV cameras that will be placed in these areas, depending on the severity of the issue.
“Once the problem is solved, we will move this mobile system to another location,” he said.
He expressed hope that with these efforts, the people can be educated about proper waste disposal and the responsibilities they have to keep the city clean.
Last year, MBPJ spent over RM68mil to manage waste in the city. This consists of RM26.3mil for the collection of domestic waste, RM31.6mil to clean public places and RM10.3mil for waste disposal at landfills.