KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — With at least 38 factories recycling plastics in their constituency, some 300,000 residents of Kuala Langat in Selangor claim they are facing serious health hazards due to air and ground pollution from the plants.
According to Malay daily Kosmo!, the township of Telok Panglima Garang in Kuala Langat is the most affected.
The report also cited an unnamed source saying that residents have lodged complaints to the authorities over foul-smelling smoke and liquid residue they believe to have been released from the plastic recycling facilities and are polluting their constituency.
“Initially, we thought it was just 12 plants, but surveillance by the general public has gathered that there are at least 38 of them.
“Such plants have even been built in palm oil estates on grounds that it is for agricultural purposes, more worryingly, there are also plants near residential areas,” the source was quoted as saying.
According to the report, the reason so many such facilities have been built in Kuala Langat was because of its strategic location to transport containers from Port Klang carrying plastic waste from other countries.
“Container lorries transport the waste to the plants and it is processed before it is sent out for other purposes.
“Waste that cannot be recycled are burned, and it is concerning because some of these plants are near rivers and can cause pollution,” the source told Kosmo!
Kuala Langat MP is the newly-minted Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar.
