PETALING JAYA, March 26 — The ugly behaviours of some Malaysians when it comes to waste dumping, littering and parking have left the authorities stumped and frustrated.
They have come to their wits end as even after conducting various campaigns and community engagement programmes, the problem remains.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Corporate Communications assistant director Abdul Hakim Khiruddin said the issue of irresponsible waste disposal by the public remains the biggest headache.
“Despite all our efforts to engage the public, indiscriminate waste dumping continues to happen everywhere.
“There have been instances where garbage is brazenly left beneath a ‘Do Not Litter Here’ sign. Worst is when the garbage appears at the same spot a day after it’s cleared up,” he told Malay Mail recently.
In 2016 MBPJ collected 55,446 tonnes of waste from public clean-ups and 163,950 from domestic waste. However last year it collected 75,749 tonnes from public clean-ups and 155,852 from domestic waste.
“The decrease in domestic waste was due to smart management by both MBPJ and residents, whereas the increased tonnage from public clean-ups was due to heightened effort in cleaning up public spaces,” Abdul Hakim said.
Another problem faced is indiscriminate domestic illegal waste dumping by irresponsible contractors, which recorded 3,274.44 tonnes in 2016.
“When people have huge quantities of waste to dispose, they often employ contractors to remove debris or waste from their premise. However few would question whether these contractors dispose of the waste at the designated dumping grounds.
“This is aggravated by waste from business activities such as street hawkers, some who even leave their garbage by the side of the road,” he said.
Abdul Hakim said to stop the problem from getting even worse, starting this year, MBPJ has made it compulsory for all private waste management contractors to produce monthly reports of their activities to the council. The council has 23 approved private companies who manage waste.
“To improve domestic waste management, MBPJ have also provided 62,000 units of 120 litre garbage bins in selected landed properties in July last year.
“The move is to standardised garbage bins and help in increasing the efficiency of waste contractors collecting waste. The large 120 litre bin would also alleviate problems such as leaking garbage bags, foul odour or rubbish bins being rummage by animals,” he said.
Other green initiatives such as encouraging recycling and discouraging the use of polystyrene are being actively carried out, said Abdul Hakim.
“We prefer to take the path of innovation that involves community participation rather than punishing offenders to keep our city clean.
“We are puzzled by the irresponsible attitude of some who think cleaning up over themselves does not cost the council anything, but we will continue to engage the public until we can change their mindset,” he said.
Similarly traffic offences including double parking and misusing designated parking spots are also on the rise.
Abdul Hakim said MBPJ’s enforcement activities have been increased in order to improve the overall traffic flow in congested areas.
Last year 238,724 traffic compounds were issued, 3,441 wheels were clamped, and 5,309 cars towed away. In contrast to 2016 where 143,261 compounds were issued, with 2,988 wheels were clamped, and 4,382 cars towed away.
“This increase in traffic offences simply compounds the existing problems for MPBJ, despite our best efforts to reduce traffic disruption as much as possible. It may seem trivial to some when parking wherever they see fit but it can impede emergency services when they are needed most,” he said.
