Forum Air Malaysia

Hutan setengah hektar musnah dicemari bahan kimia

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.

Crackdown on Pasir Gudang factories dumping chemical waste illegally

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.

On track to meet renewable energy target

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.

Half of plastic supermarket packaging cannot be recycled, Which? survey finds

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.

‘Govt should set up environmental council’

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.

274 kilang sepanjang jajaran Sungai Kim Kim

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.

PLASTIC PROBLEM: BURIED BUT NOT LAID TO REST

New dumping ground Heaps of plastic waste piled two storeys high and packed in sacks at an industrial plot opposite Taman Sri Wang across the railway track in Sungai Petani, Kedah. — LO TERN CHERN/The Star

Unscrupulous plastic recyclers have resorted to devious means to continue their business in the dark. Garbage is being moved from areas of trouble and dumped elsewhere and it is being buried or burnt to give the impression that it is being dealt with. Instead, it’s creating a bigger problem.SUNGAI PETANI: Penang did not want them, so plastic waste processing factories have moved here.After a major crackdown “shooed away” illegal plastic waste processing facilities from Penang, many of them moved south, just 30 minutes from Butterworth.Checks revealed that industrial plots as large as 4ha and vacant warehouses have become processing facilities for plastic waste that needed to be sorted by quality and cut into bits before being recycled.

The Kedah government is on alert and has ordered the closure of several illegal factories.A few factories in the Sungai Petani Industrial Area had their gates sealed with yellow tape by local authorities.However, forklifts on the factory grounds could still be seen shifting large sacks of shredded plastic piled two storeys high.Kedah environment and climate change committee chairman Simon Ooi said so far, 14 illegal plastic waste factories in Sungai Petani had been ordered to cease all operations, but he was disappointed that some of them were still running.“We have stopped issuing new licences for recycling plastic, and more drastic action will be taken very soon.

Control use of plastic bags

JOHOR BARU: Johor should emulate other countries which have managed to control the use of plastic bags.Green Earth Society Johor president P. Sivakumar said many developed nations had done this and that local businesses and consumers must support the move for zero plastic usage as it was a good initiative.He said in certain countries, retailers were allowed to sell only reusable bags to consumers at a reasonable price as part of measures for zero plastic usage.“Affordable reusable bags will encourage more users to stop using plastic and bring their own bags when out shopping,” Sivakumar said in response to the Penang government’s move in asking businesses in the state to stop dispensing plastic bags on Mondays starting from next month.

The latest move is an expansion of Penang’s initiative towards zero plastic bag usage which began in July 2009 and has since widened to charges of 20sen per bag.Sivakumar hoped Johor government would discuss with stakeholders on how much to charge for a bag to discourage consumers from even buying them.“A grace period of three months should be given to all hypermarkets and supermarkets to sell only reusable bags to consumers,” he added.

DoE gets tough on e-waste

PETALING JAYA: The government wants to make it mandatory for consumers to send certain unwanted electrical and electronic items to places licensed to handle e-waste.The proposed change in the law aims to reduce harm to the environment and public health when such waste is not disposed of properly.The proposed regulation covers televisions, air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, personal computers and mobile phones.Most of these items are recycled in the informal sector, where those with little expertise and resources rip apart the appliances and devices and burn some components to extract materials that can be resold. All this is done with little thought for health and environmental effects.In a statement to The Star, the Department of Environment (DoE) said it realised the importance of tackling scheduled e-waste management issues in Malaysia.

“The DoE has drafted a specific law for the six controlled items.“In the draft regulation, these items generated from households, institutions, commercial and others are listed to be regulated,” it said.Asked if “regulated” means it would be the consumers’ responsibility to discard or send these items only to registered retailers, collectors, recycling facilities or recovery facilities, the DoE replied: “Yes.”It said these controlled items were currently handled by the informal sector such as house-to-house collectors, community bodies and non-governmental groups.“The specific legislative provisions to control the management mechanism of the items are important to ensure that they do not pollute the environment or cause any harm to human health,” it added.