KUALA LUMPUR: Some 2,000 metric tonnes of illegal e-waste were seized in Ops Hazard 2.0, says the Environment Department.
Its enforcement division director, Rosli Zul, said the department also issued equipment seizure orders on 24 premises raided during the special operation.
"It was done per Section 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) for operating machinery without any pollution control systems.
"We also issued 59 directives under Sections 31 and 37 of the Act, while 18 compounds were issued for various violations of the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005," he told a press conference in Bukit Aman on Thursday (June 19).
Rosli said investigations have been opened into 25 premises for various offences, including failure to comply with license conditions and operating unlicensed scheduled waste storage facilities.
"Other offences detected were failure to obtain written approval from the department’s director-general, failure to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment report and disposal of scheduled waste without proper approval.
“These illegal activities not only break the law but pose serious threats to human health and the environment due to the potential release of hazardous pollutants into the air, water, and soil,” he said.
Many of the illegal operations were found in remote areas and outside approved industrial zones, making enforcement and monitoring more difficult, and increasing risks for enforcement officers, Rosli said.
He stressed that any management of scheduled waste, including e-waste, without proper approval from the director-general is a serious offence
" Under the latest amendments to the Environmental Quality Act (Amendment) 2024, offenders now face fines of up to RM10mil and jail terms of up to five years if convicted," he added.
Ops Hazard 2.0 was recently conducted, involving various agencies led by the police's General Operations Force.
