PENANG takes proactive action to stop illegal waste dumping in the state, including enforcement and rejecting planning permissions, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

Apart from taking enforcement action against illegal waste dumping activities, state authorities can even exercise development control, such as disallowing applications for rezoning and rejecting planning permission, if the state discouraged waste processing activities, he added.

“But that is if such operators submit applications. If they don’t submit anything and they start operating, then monitoring and enforcement are very necessary.

“Such efforts are ongoing,” he told a press conference today.

He said this when asked to comment on illegal dumping of plastic wastes in Machang Bubok, Bukit Mertajam.

It was reported today that the area had become an illegal plastic waste dumpsite the size of six football fields. The Sungai Petani local council (MPSP) confirmed that no permit was issued for the site to be used as a dumpsite.

Chow said the state, through environment exco Phee Boon Poh, monitored the issue of illegal plastic waste dumping closely.

Phee is currently flying home from New Zealand. He was on a humanitarian mission to Christchurch accompanying the family members of a victim who was shot in last Friday’s mosques shooting.

Chow said the authorities could not stop “genuine” waste processing factories that follow the law and guidelines by applying for licences and land conversions.

But he reiterated that those who flout the law would face enforcement action.

He said the local council, which issued summonses against errant operators, had even faced legal action from parties fined.

“There has been instances – one or two cases in Nibong Tebal.

“The operators took the Seberang Prai Municipal Council to court over the enforcement, claiming the authorities overstepped its jurisdiction,” he said.

Earlier today, Machang Bubok assemblyman Lee Khai Loon told reporters that the landowners of the land where the plastic wastes were dumped had been issued notices by MPSP.

They were ordered to stop the dumping, clear the site of machinery and rehabilitate the location in 20 days.

Lee urged the Environmental Department to take samples from the dumpsite for tests to check if they were hazardous.

He also urged the local authorities to install closed-circuit televisions and a guard post to monitor the site around the clock to prevent trespassing and more illegal dumping.

The dumpsite was formerly an illegal sand mining site before it was shut down years ago.

Malaysia had been in the spotlight over the past year and was dubbed the world’s dumping ground for plastic waste after China banned imports in 2018, but the business is too lucrative for illegal operators.

Selangor has the highest number of illegal waste dumpsites and factories, with 78 shut down to date. There are many illegal dumpsites in other states as well. – March 20, 2019.