EARLIER last month, a video showing garbage bags being dumped by the roadside at Taman Ipoh Timur, near Bercham in Perak, went viral on social media.
The incident garnered much criticism from the public over the perpetrators’ lack of civic-mindedness.
It was later revealed that one of the individuals, identified by Ipoh City Council and issued a compound, did not even know the right way to discard garden waste.
The man claimed that the garden waste he had placed in a plastic bag on previous occasion was not picked up by the garbage collectors.
It seems many residents remain unaware that standard garbage trucks no longer collect bulk and garden wastes like furniture and tree branches.
To bridge this gap, the city council must intensify its efforts to promote the monthly collection services that have been in place since 2021.
The collection schedule is available on the city council’s website for those who are interested to know.
A simple Google search using the keywords “Ipoh City Council” and “Bulk Waste Schedule” will show the link to the schedule.
To ensure the city council picks up bulk wastes, some steps are required from the public.
Tree branches and cardboard should be tied up securely into manageable bundles, while waste like grass clippings and leaves must be placed in garbage bags.
Larger items like furniture should be dismantled into smaller pieces if possible, arranged and tied together neatly.
If the furniture cannot be dismantled, Ipoh City Council can be contacted for a special collection.
People could seek help from the city councillors in charge of their areas, if the city council was unresponsive or slow in removing the waste.
Their contact numbers can also be found on the city council website.
Perhaps the councillors should hold a refresher talk for the people and brief them about the collection services.
Most councillors should now be aware of which areas in their respective zones often have bulk or garden waste.
City councillors can also organise talks to further promote 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), upcycling, waste separation as well as composting as the city moves toward becoming a Low-Carbon City by 2030.
There are always solutions to issues related to bulk and garden wastes if people take some effort and have the joint responsibility to keep the city clean.
Taking the easy way out by discarding the waste by the roadside or near an illegal garbage pile is definitely not the way to go.
The garbage piles are not just eyesores, they reflect the mindset of the people and tarnish the city’s image.
