Penang DOE fines factory RM10,000 for discharging waste into public drain

BUTTERWORTH: The Penang Environment Department (DOE) has issued a compound notice for RM10,000 to a food processing factory in Butterworth for causing water pollution by discharging effluents into a public drain on Monday (Jan 31).

State DOE director Sharifah Zakiah Syed Sahab said the matter was discovered following an investigation by the department over complaints of contamination of the river water in the area.

"DOE conducted checks to identify the source of the pollution, including by using drones, and found that the contamination was caused, among others, by discharge from a food-based factory.

"Further checks found that the factory failed to operate the industrial effluent treatment system properly, and as such, breached regulations on the management of its scheduled waste under the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations 2005,” she said in a statement Tuesday (Feb 1).

She said the compound notice to the factory was issued under the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009 and the factory was also ordered to take immediate action to stop releasing the effluents into the drain.

"The factory was also instructed to upgrade the existing Effluent Treatment System and to ensure it complied with the Scheduled Waste Regulations 2005,” she added. - Bernama