Pantai merupakan salah sebuah destinasi yang menjadi pilihan masyarakat bagi tujuan berlibur.Selain menjadi tempat untuk bermandi-manda, ia juga merupakan lokasi yang mampu memberikan ketenangan khususnya buat warga kota.Malangnya, destinasi tersebut yang kaya dengan keindahan flora dan fauna kini terancam dek masalah pencemaran plastik.Justeru, Nestlé Malaysia meneruskan usahanya mengutip sampah plastik dengan aktiviti pembersihan pantai di seluruh negara.Program itu telah berjaya mengutip lebih 5.6 tan sampah di sembilan lokasi sekitar Malaysia.Kerjasama itu dilaksanakan dengan Persatuan Pencinta Alam Malaysia (MNS) yang disertai lebih 600 kakitangan Nestlé.

Berpacukan kejayaan aktiviti membersih pantai pada tahun-tahun lepas dan sebagai memperingati Hari Lautan Sedunia, Nestlé Malaysia meluaskan usahanya ke seluruh negara pada tahun ini.Kata Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Nestlé Malaysia, Juan Aranols, inisiatif pembersihan pantai itu dilaksanakan bagi menangani masalah sisa pembuangan plastik sekali gus memelihara keindahan alam semula jadi.“Nestlé komited untuk membantu menangani masalah sisa buangan plastik dan kami berhasrat untuk menjadikan pembungkusan kami 100 peratus boleh dikitar semula atau diguna semula menjelang tahun 2025.“Kami sentiasa mencari cara inovatif untuk mempelopori penggunaan bahan alternatif, membina masa depan tanpa sisa buangan dan mengubah tingkah laku serta membentuk tabiat baharu,” ujarnya ketika ditemui Infiniti di Pantai Remis, Jeram, Selangor baru-baru ini.

THE recent statement by the chairman of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, that the authorities concerned should identify illegal dump sites should be taken seriously. Illegal dump sites,if left uncleared, would become a serious health hazard to the people living in the surrounding areas. They are also eyesores on the land.Open burning, which is being done at these illegal dump sites to create space for more waste or by scavengers to recover scrap metals, is polluting the air.It would be a wasted effort if these illegal dump sites are only identified but no action taken is taken against the operators.Most of these illegal rubbish dumping grounds are operated by contractors who are involved in the disposal of construction and municipal waste. Most of the operators have underworld connection and display thuggish behaviour when confronted.They offer their services based on two categories – disposal of rubbish at licensed dump sites (for which receipts are issued), and illegal dumping at any available space they can find. Some irresponsible customers choose the latter for cost and convenience, thus creating a never-ending presence of illegal dump sites.

SUNGKAI (July 4): A plastic processing factory here was ordered to close with immediate effect today, following an inspection by authorities who found that terms of the conditional approval granted by the Tapah District Council had not been complied with.Perak Health, Consumer Affairs, Civil Society, National Integration and Human Resources commitee chairman A. Sivanesan said the factory owner, believed to be a foreign national, had not obtained approval from the Department of Environment (DOE) to operate, and the factory was suspected of processing plastic materials brought into the country illegally.Checks of the premises surrounding the factory found the area dirty and smelling, with authorities also concerned that contamination may have occurred, he said, explaining that the inspection was conducted following complaints from residents that river water in Kampung Baru Kuala Bikam had an odour, besides being so dirty that it had turned black.

Sivanesan was speaking to reporters at today’s inspection which was carried out jointly by several bodies including the DOE, district council, police, Immigration Department, Labour Department, Irrigation and Drainage Department and the Land and Mines Office.He said the exercise which began at 11am also involved an inspection of another factory nearby which was found to be in a satisfactory state.The factory was eventually ordered shut, and during the inspection, many factory workers believed to be foreigners, were not present, and this had cast a suspicious light on the matter, Sivanesan said.He explained that the closure would also enable the authorities to further investigate several concerns related to health, cleanliness, foreign workers and the plastic materials.Sivanesan added that the DOE would also be testing samples of the river water.

NILAI - Sebuah kawasan hutan berkeluasan hampir setengah hektar bersebelahan Kawasan Perindustrian Taman Melur, Batang Benar, Mantin dekat sini musnah akibat dicemari cecair dipercayai mengandungi bahan kimia.Cecair berkenaan dipercayai dilepaskan ke kawasan hutan tersebut secara haram dari sebuah kilang memproses aluminium yang terletak di kawasan perindustrian itu.Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Bertindak Kesihatan, Alam Sekitar, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan negeri, S Veerapan berkata, perbuatan tidak bertanggungjawab kilang itu mengakibatkan pokok di kawasan hutan itu mati dan tanahnya tercemar."Cecair yang dihasilkan kilang itu disalurkan ke luar kawasan kilang. Kilang ini mempunyai mesin untuk merawat cecair itu, tetapi rosak dan mereka lepaskan ke kawasan hutan.

"Kita dapati kawasan hutan itu ditenggelami cecair tersebut sedalam satu meter menyebabkan pokok-pokok di situ mati," katanya ketika ditemui pemberita selepas melakukan pemeriksaan di kilang berkenaan dan meninjau kawasan hutan yang terjejas di sini hari ini.Veerapan menegaskan, hasil buangan dari kilang itu sepatutnya dilupuskan di tempat yang dibenarkan oleh Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) Negeri Sembilan seperti di Pusat Kualiti Alam.Sementara itu, Pengarah JAS Negeri Sembilan, Norhazni Mat Sari berkata, pihaknya mengesan pencemaran itu semalam menggunakan dron semasa melakukan pemeriksaan berkala di kawasan perindustrian tersebut.Menurut beliau, kilang itu diarahkan menghentikan operasinya selama 14 hari bermula semalam bagi membolehkan siasatan dilakukan oleh JAS Negeri Sembilan dan jika perlu arahan tersebut akan dilanjutkan.

PASIR GUDANG : The Department of Environment (DOE) in Johor has initiated investigation on at least 38 industrial factories operating in Pasir Gudang, for non-compliance and flouting the department’s laws, following the recent toxic fume pollution here.State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said action taken included the issuing of compounds to 37 factory operators who had failed to adhere to the department’s procedures under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.“Of the total, 27 compounds were issued for unscheduled waste disposal, 10 were for industrial effluents and three notices to stop work and notice of demand, each were also issued to six of them.“This is part of our enforcement to crackdown on factories which did not comply with the existing act,” he said.

Khuzzan said the air quality and pollution index reading at the affected site showed no signs of pollution.“Air quality reading in the Pasir Gudang area is at a good level,” he said, adding police would also continue to step up security and conduct road checks while DOE carried out enforcement against errant factory owners.He also confirmed that 100 tonnes of chemical waste had been shipped out of the site for proper disposal.

 

REFERRING to the report “Jomo: Lack of political commitment for RE (renewable energy) agenda in Malaysia” (TheStarOnline, June 25, there is actually no issue of political will by the Pakatan Harapan government in setting the right tone via policies to promote the uptake of renewable energy.The government is committed to fulfilling its promise in the Pakatan manifesto to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy (excluding large hydro schemes) from 2% in 2018 to 20% by the year 2025. It must be noted that this target is significantly higher than the one set by the previous administration (13% by 2030).

In October 2018, Energy, Science, Technology, Envi­ronment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin announced the new Net Energy Metering on a one-to-one basis, making the proposition of installing rooftop solar far more financially attractive. This is arguably the most progressive solar policy in South-East Asia.Liberalising the electricity supply industry was the right decision for solar energy companies to not only supply and install solar panels but also to just sell solar energy directly to the consumer. This enables commercial and industrial premises to avoid the heavy capex of buying the solar system and instead enjoy green renewable energy with zero upfront cost.

IPOH: A state exco member has urged the Federal Government to set up a permanent council to tackle environmental issues.Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, who heads the state Environmental Committee, said such a body could act as a liaison between the state and federal governments in handling such matters.“It’s not necessary for the council to have the same status as the National Land Council.“But it is necessary to have it to share information between the state and federal governments and for national policies or actions to be streamlined and implemented,” he said after attending a Hari Raya open house held by the Perak branch of the Society for the Blind in Malaysia yesterday.

 “It is necessary so that all states can move forward together with none left behind. The council could be chaired by the Prime Minister or his deputy to give it more importance,” he said.He said the general perception was that the state had the authority to act on environmental matters.“But states do not have the expertise or funds to do so.“State environmental departments have laws but lack ‘teeth’ and enforcement,” he said, adding that the Federal Government had more resources.Abdul Aziz cited the Sungai Kim Kim toxic pollution incident when the Johor government relied on federal agencies to handle the issue.“For example, we need the Federal Government to deal with other countries to bring in river cleaning technology,” he said.Asked whether a new law to empower state environmental departments would help, Abdul Aziz said this was not the answer.

 

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/06/17/govt-should-set-up-environmental-council/#kHvuj8FJ0Jjplmih.99

Half of plastic supermarket packaging cannot be recycled, a study by Which? has found.Researchers analysed the packaging of 46 of the most popular own-brand items from leading supermarkets including Asda, M&S, Morrisons, and Waitrose.They found that only 52 per cent of the packaging - including cardboard, glass and plastics - could be easily put in household recycling bins.Morrisons was the worst offender, as 61 per cent of its packaging that Which? examined was not easily recyclable.The best supermarkets were Tesco and Waitrose - as only 40 per cent of their packaging could not be easily recycled.The study also found that 42 per cent of the total supermarket packaging was labelled either incorrectly or not at all, making it difficult for well-intentioned consumers and increasing the chances of it ending up in landfill.

Which? is calling on the government to make recycling labelling simple, clear and mandatory and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to make it easy for everyone to recycle.The consumer champion urged all the supermarkets to commit to ensuring a much greater proportion of their packaging is recyclable, rather than continuing to use environmentally unfriendly single-use, throwaway materials.

 The study also examined the quality of recycling labelling. Iceland had the worst record for labelling, with only 38 per cent of packaging examined by Which? was correctly labelled.The supermarket’s easy peeler oranges which use type of plastic netting that cannot be recycled were not labelled at all, investigators found.Of the other supermarkets, M&S had 43 per cent of their products labelled correctly, whilst Ocado had 44 per cent and Waitrose 47 per cent.Asda led the way, demonstrating that recycling labelling can be done well, with eight in 10 items of packaging that Which? experts looked at correctly labelled.Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: “Our research shows there is a lot more supermarkets and manufacturers can do to banish single-use plastics and make sure any packaging they use is minimal, recyclable and correctly labelled, so that shoppers know exactly how they can recycle it.

PASIR GUDANG: Terdapat 274 kilang di sepanjang jajaran Sungai Kim Kim, di sini, yang dikenal pasti penyebab masalah pencemaran di sungai berkenaan sukar dikawal.Sumber memberitahu jumlah itu direkodkan dalam bancian yang dilakukan sebelum dan selepas isu pencemaran sisa kimia berbahaya di sungai berkenaan yang menggemparkan negara, Mac lalu.Katanya, kawasan lembangan Sungai Kim Kim sepanjang 15 kilometer itu antara sungai yang padat dengan kawasan perindustrian di bahagian hulunya menyebabkan penguatkuasaan undang-undang sukar dilaksanakan dengan berkesan.“Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) boleh keupayaan mengesan pemilik kilang yang melepaskan sisa berbahaya tidak dirawat ke sungai kerana memiliki sistem khas latar belakang syarikat, termasuk bahan diproses di kilang kerana ia syarat utama sebelum dibenarkan beroperasi.“Cuma, yang sukar dikawal kewujudan kilang haram kerana agensi kerajaan tiada maklumat mengenai operasi mereka dan apa yang diproses, apatah lagu sisa apa yang mereka lepaskan ke sungai kita,” katanya.

Justeru, penguatkuasaan bersepadu perlu dilaksanakan secara berterusan di kawasan perindustrian yang terletak di sepanjang Sungai Kim Kim kerana jajarannya berada berdekatan penempatan manusia, termasuk taman perumahan, kampung tradisional serta kampung nelayan menjadikan pencemaran mampu mendatangkan ancaman.Semalam BH melaporkan selepas tiga bulan diisytiharkan bebas dan selamat daripada pencemaran sisa kimia berbahaya, Sungai Kim Kim, di sini berdepan pula masalah pencemaran sampah sarap, selain menjadi semakin cetek hingga menjejaskan kehidupan komuniti nelayan setempat.Penduduk setempat mendakwa walaupun sungai itu tidak lagi berbau busuk dengan sisa kimia, namun tahap kebersihannya masih diragui disebabkan ada pihak tidak bertanggungjawab membuang sampah sarap ke dalamnya.

  1. Control use of plastic bags
  2. PLASTIC PROBLEM: BURIED BUT NOT LAID TO REST
  3. DoE gets tough on e-waste
  4. Malaysia Will Ship A Total Of 3,000 Tonnes Of Plastic Waste Back To Its Origin Countries
  5. Serious water pollution in Penang
  6. JBPM kenal pasti 19 lokasi panas kes lemas
  7. Malaysia, flooded with plastic waste, to send back some scrap to source
  8. We need to save our disappearing forests
  9. 415.26 parts per million: CO2 levels hit historic high
  10. Why not turn waste into energy?