By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
SHAH ALAM, Jan 21 — KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) has extended the deadline for the collection of bulk waste to this Sunday (January 23), allowing flood-affected residents to clear the garbage from their homes.
Its managing director Ramli Mohd Tahir said the deadline was supposed to be last Sunday (January 16) but as of yesterday, the bulk waste remains on the streets.
“Until now, an estimated 3,000 metric tonnes of bulk waste have been collected by our workers since January 7, and that is still a huge amount, despite us already entering the second phase of the cleaning process.
“Therefore, we request cooperation from flood-affected residents to clean out everything by this Sunday. After this, the remaining bulk waste will be categorised as illegal waste,” he told SelangorKini.
[caption id="attachment_258976" align="alignright" width="424"]
Ramli Mohd Tahir during an interview with Media Selangor on the post-flood solid waste management at the KDEBWM office, Shah Alam, on December 27, 2021. — Picture by FIKRI YUSOF/SELANGORKINI[/caption]
Ramli added the deadline extension has affected the cleaning operation’s second phase, which began on January 8.
“The second phase of post-flood cleanup focuses on disinfection work, as well as cleaning clogged ditches.
“If there is still bulk waste, it will impact the cleaning process and the rostering of workers,” he said.
The state government subsidiary company, which fully managed the collection of domestic waste since last year, has been cleaning flood-affected areas since December 20, 2021, in stages.
An estimated 78,000 tonnes of bulk waste have been cleaned up, with the cooperation of local authorities and other agencies, and fully concluded on January 7.
