KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Illegal dumping sites are becoming increasingly common across the capital, with dozens of new rubbish piles appearing in back lanes, on empty lots and along road shoulders despite repeated warnings.
According to a report by The Star, a senior officer from the Kuala Lumpur Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) said the number of hotspots has climbed to 56, with the figure continuing to grow.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said domestic waste is collected twice a week, while bulk items, recyclables and garden cuttings are picked up once weekly — yet many still choose to leave discarded furniture and other refuse by the roadside.
“They would rather leave an old mattress by the roadside than put it in front of their homes,” he said, adding that the growing number of illegal heaps is cutting into cleaners’ time for routine work.
He said it only takes one person to dump items such as garden waste or unwanted sofas for others to follow suit, creating what he described as a cycle that “just doesn’t stop”.
Construction and commercial waste have also become major contributors.
Some owners, he said, avoid hiring licensed contractors by abandoning renovation debris or commercial refuse at communal bins or by the roadside to dodge tipping fees.
“To curb illegal dumping by the commercial sector, we have also stopped providing communal bins to shoplots in some commercial areas,” he said.
These premises will now receive individual 240-litre bins.
Previously, shoplots used larger 660-litre communal bins supplied by Alam Flora Sdn Bhd, but these were frequently misused by outsiders who discarded bulk waste and renovation materials.
The officer said the shift to individual bins is aimed at improving accountability among business operators.
