SHAH ALAM, Sept 18 — Modern waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities are equipped with safeguards to address concerns over odour, air pollution, and waste transportation raised by residents, a waste management expert said.
Sunway University’s Jeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development senior Professor Datuk Dr Agamutu Pariatamby said residents’ concerns were understandable but modern WTE facilities were designed to minimise the risks associated with waste combustion.
“Ultimately, modern WTE facilities are subject to detailed assessment on the same issues raised by residents, including proximity to homes, odour and lorry movement,” he said, Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported.
Agamutu said conventional incinerators and WTE plants were often viewed similarly because both involved combustion, but WTE facilities are different based on their ability to generate energy and the technologies used to control emissions.
He said modern facilities were also designed to prevent unpleasant odours from escaping when waste was delivered.
“They use what is called negative pressure. The moment the door opens for the lorry to offload, the vacuum inside will actually suck the air in from outside.
“As the air is sucked in, so is the odour,” he said.
His remarks followed concerns from residents in Batu Arang over the proposed Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) Green Energy Plant, with them expressing worry on potential pollution, odour and air quality issues, possible leakage from waste-hauling lorries into nearby drains and rivers, as well as road damage, and the impact of heavy vehicle traffic on the area’s tourism and heritage appeal.
The concerns persist despite the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) receiving approval, with residents saying they intend to continue opposing the project.
The plant is being developed by KDEB Waste Management in collaboration with YTL Power International.
Previously, Media Selangor reported that WTE technology is seen as a highly effective initiative and a long-term solution for managing Selangor’s daily waste, which is anticipated to continue growing by approximately 6 per cent annually.
KDEBWM managing director Dato’ Ramli Mohd Tahir said the state government is adopting the best approach as traditional landfill methods are no longer sustainable due to land constraints and rising costs.
Ramli also emphasised that WTE technology is also capable of reducing 90 per cent of waste volume, leaving only 10 per cent for landfills.
Explaining further on the environmental aspect, Agamutu said emissions produced during combustion would also undergo treatment to remove harmful substances before being released.
For example, he said burning plastic could produce toxic chemicals, but modern WTE plants use technologies including catalytic converters and fibre filters to remove such pollutants.
He also stressed a WTE project would have to undergo a detailed EIA, with the assessment examining issues including the plant’s proximity to residential areas and the movement of heavy vehicles.
He added the EIA process also involved government officers and specialists in areas including air pollution and traffic management.
“Any waste to energy plant has to go through a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA). Experts will review the EIA and look into all these issues such as proximity to houses or lorry transportation,” he said.
The proposal was first mooted in 2019, while Mentri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said in 2023 that the facility would use newer technology and would not resemble incinerators from the 1990s.
The facility is designed to process up to 2,400 tonnes of municipal waste a day and is intended to reduce pressure on landfills serving six local authorities in Selangor.
