Give the facts on managing waste

Date : 271004
Source : Sun2surf (The Sun Online)
Title : Give the facts on managing waste

ONE of the main complaints of Malaysians is the lack of cleanliness in the towns and cities. Many attribute this to poor management of solid waste. Government leaders and waste disposal contractors rightly point to the lack of civic consciousness.

However, there are also many who want to play a positive role to make the urban areas cleaner. Many more could be persuaded to be better citizens and help in the proper disposal of waste if they were to be better informed. Unfortunately, the government has largely failed to inform Malaysians about solid waste and its disposal.

Take the proposed solid waste management Act that is to enable the federal government to play a leading role in solid waste management and complete the privatisation process that began in the mid-1990s. Little has been explained to the people.For instance, will the local authorities have a role in solid waste management after the Bill is passed? Who will be responsible for enforcing cleanliness rules and regulations? Indeed, whom should residents call if and when they have complaints: their local authorities or the proposed solid waste department in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government?

Can the local authorities have control over the concessionaires when they do not appoint them? How will the concessionaires be paid? Who will determine the costs? Will there be separate billings for collection and disposal of solid waste? Will the local authorities have problems paying the bills like some did in the past? Will the government continue to bail out the poorer local authorities?

Indeed, many Malaysians who are apathetic about solid waste once their garbage is collected will play a more positive role if they were to be made aware of the costs and the mounting problems of waste disposal, such as leachate pollution, over-used landfills and illegal dumpsites. Malaysians must be told that it costs between RM90 and RM150 per tonne to collect, transport and dispose the waste in landfills. With 17,000 to 18,000 tonnes of waste that Malaysians generate daily, the cost of disposal is enormous.

What has happened to the "strategic" solid waste management plan that Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting promised two years ago when he was officiating a recycling project at Kota Kemuning?

A secret plan is useless unless it is for war against enemies. A secret solid waste management plan only creates more waste. This might explain why Malaysia has achieved only a 3% recycling rate, according to official figures, after spending about RM40 million from 2001-03.

Ong and his senior officers did occasionally provide solid waste related data in press conferences. These are useful, but inadequate. Statistics and information, including nasty truths about solid waste management problems and reports of commissioned studies, should also be posted on the ministry's website to promote informed discussions.

Local researchers who are interested in solid waste management should be able to build on what is already known and not get bogged down collecting data that are already in the files in the ministry. Their time and funds should be spent on collecting new data and formulating innovative ideas.

Furthermore, the ministry has been calling on local authorities to adopt Local Agenda 21, a consultative instrument that is based on the principle that consultation promotes compliance and cooperation for sustainable development.

In solid waste management, compliance with the rules and cooperation by all stakeholders are paramount in ensuring success.Surely the ministry must practise what it preaches. But fruitful consultations are predicated on the availability of data and information. When the government treats solid waste information like national security secrets, the sense of urgency to seek improvement is lost. The reluctance to let the facts out could be nothing more than the lack of transparency in many government departments.

But it could lead to a perception of apathy on the part of the officers entrusted to improve solid waste management. Worse, it could lead to suspicion that the minister or his officials want to hide embarrassing, or even illegal, matters.Unlike nuclear science, ordinary Malaysians, including housewives, can provide good ideas. After all, they generate waste and are familiar with the way it is stored and collected in their neighbourhoods. They also suffer when the management is ineffective or inefficient.Dr Goh Ban Lee can be reached at gohbanlee@yahoo.com.