Garbage in, garbage out? Flat-dwellers confused

KUALA LUMPUR: People who live in flats and high-rise buildings seem confused by the requirement to separate recyclable items from kitchen and household waste when throwing out their rubbish.

Mandatory segregation of solid waste has been implemented in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Malacca, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah and Johor since June 1.

The process has been smooth except at multi-storey premises, according to Hazilah Gumri, the Federal Territory director of the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation.

Residents of flats, apartments and condominiums were still confused about solid waste segregation for recycling, he said in an interview with Bernama.

He said all households must separate plastic, paper and similar items from other waste.

Residents in landed premises should put rubbish bags containing recycling waste by the side of the rubbish bin, while bags containing other waste goes into the garbage can.

Those in multi-storey premises should put the recycling waste in specific containers which must be provided by the Joint Management Body (JMB) or take them to recycling centres, he said today.

He said officers of the company would examine the rubbish bags at multi-storey premises and if garbage was found to be not segregated, the JMB would be issued a notice or compound.

“The recycling waste management system for multi-storey units is the responsibility of the JMB,” he said.

Hazilah said rubbish collection schedule remained the same for all households: twice a week for kitchen waste and once a week for recycling waste.

“For multi-storey premises not handled by JMB, the management of garbage is dependent on the housing developers. If the developers do not take any steps to ensure that the residents segregate their solid waste, the developers will be fined,” he told Bernama.

The maximum fine under the solid waste management law is RM1,000. Tenants or owners can be fined RM50 for a first offence, RM100 for the second offence and RM500 for the third offence; for residents of multi-storey storey premises, the fines are RM100, RM200 and RM500 respectively.

Solid waste that can be recycled include electronic equipment, fabric such as leather bags and shoes; garden waste, plastic, glass or ceramic and bulk waste such as sofas, beds and other furniture.

To reuse or recycle?

Cuti-cuti Malaysia, with rubbish everywhere