HULU SELANGOR: Nine sanitary landfills will open up next year to process 17,000 tonnes of garbage a day in the country.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the new sanitary landfills would be fully operational by 2012 and would further protect the environment.
“The sanitary landfill will not only prevent the environment from being polluted but the gas generated from the garbage can be used to produce electricity,” he told reporters after visiting a sanitary landfill site developed and managed by KUB-Berjaya Enviro Sdn Bhd at Bukit Tagar here yesterday.
Chor said the ordinary landfill or dumpsite system was still being used in the country.
The nine sanitary landfills would be in Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, and Perlis with two each in Terengganu and Perak.
Currently, the country has four sanitary landfills located at Bukit Tagar, Jeram, Tanjung Duabelas in Selangor, and Seelong in Johor.
There are 290 normal landfills and dumpsites nationwide, of which 16 are in the midst of being closed while 32 were being upgraded and some would be converted to sanitary landfills.
“If possible, we want to convert all the normal landfills to sanitary landfills,” said Chor.
Also present were Berjaya Corp Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Robin Tan Yeong Ching, the ministry’s National Solid Waste Management Department director-general Datuk Dr Nadzri Yahaya, KUB-Berjaya Enviro chairman Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim and managing director Chock Eng Tah.
Dr Nadzri said the Government needed about RM270mil to open the nine sanitary landfills.
“By 2020, we are expecting to produce up to about 30,000 tonnes of waste,” he added.
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