THE only way to stop the mushrooming of illegal waste factories in Sg Petani, Kedah, is to stop giving out “approved permits”, said Bakar Arang assemblyman Simon Ooi Tze Min.

He said there is an indirect link between the APs given to legal factories and the rampant growth of illegal factories.

One of the main reasons there are so many illegal factories is that some legal companies can’t handle the large volume of waste and they then sub-contract the job to other smaller factories, which are largely illegal, he said.

The situation doesn’t look like ending soon based on the sheer size of recycled waste brought into the country for processing, he said.

“We understand that there are 200 containers of recycled waste at the Penang port.

“Those who don’t have APs shouldn’t have foreign waste in their factories,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The state exco for environment also said, at present, only two out of the 13 waste recycling factories in the area have APs.

“And there is already a freeze on the two factories with APs since July last year.”

A report on both the AP holders has been sent to the National Solid Waste Management Department, which is under the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

“The companies are still operating, pending the outcome from (the department),” he said.

However, for Ooi, the solution to the problem is simple – just stop issuing APs.

“The government should just stop issuing APs. If there is no supply, then there is no demand.”

Many factories are still operating illegally and processing foreign plastic waste, despite the freeze on the APs.

“We have conducted checks with the Department of Environment and have shut down some of the factories.

“We have also caught factories processing foreign plastic despite not having an AP to import them.”

Since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2017, Malaysia has become one of the world’s biggest plastic importers, receiving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish each year.

In January to July last year, Malaysia received 754,000 tonnes of plastic waste, mostly from the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia, according to Greenpeace.

Residents living around the Bakar Arang industrial area in Sg Petani, where the factories are located, have been complaining of air pollution and smog.

The open burning and putrid smell from the factories are affecting the children at SK Taman Sri Wang 500m away, they said.

The residents have started a petition calling for the relocation of the factories.

Ooi said Kedah welcomes the move by the residents to start the petition.

“We need the voice of the people to help us expose the illegal factories.”

Ooi added that he was aware of the problem and they are conducting regular checks at the factories.

“Right after the 14th general election, Sg Petani became a favourite place for recycling factories.

“We have conducted numerous operations and as the local council, we can only issue compounds.

“The DoE can shut them down if they don’t comply with certain regulations but once they address the issue, they can operate back again.”

Ooi said what the local council needs is more power to carry out enforcement and shut down the factories.

“There are limitations but we are going to raise them with the authorities.

“We should stop importing recycle waste and start focusing more on our local waste.”

One of the areas the council is looking at to curb the problem is to rezone an area specifically for the processing of recycle waste, he said.

“If we can get all the factories away from the residential area and into a specific area, then it will be easier for the authorities to monitor.” – March 24, 2019.