THE company wholly owned by the Selangor State Development Corporation, Worldwide Holdings Bhd, which is the operator of the Dengkil Inert Waste Landfill, recorded a three-fold increase in waste after the floods.

Operations engineer Azimie Zakaria told Bernama the amount of waste rose from the usual 500 tonnes daily to 1,500 tonnes.

“We receive inert waste such as bulk, garden and construction waste, and now household items damaged by floods,” he said.

To ensure the smooth process of post-flood waste management, the operating hours at the 58.67ha landfill, which was opened in 2004, had been extended by five more hours, and is now open from 8am to 11pm.

“We hope to speed up the process to clear the trash piled up on roadsides and in makeshift dumps in residential areas,” he said.

Azimie said most of the waste trucks were three-tonne Roro vehicles operated daily by Sepang branch KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd cleaning workers.

“For residential areas, workers will collect all types of damaged items. It is quite difficult to use machines like the backhoe because it will block the entry and exit of the residents,” he said.

A Roro truck would make five trips daily from a residential area to the landfill, he added.

“Before the floods, 200 to 300 Roro lorries entered the landfill per day, but now the number can reach up to 400 a day. On average, one lorry can only carry flood waste from one house,” he said.

Azimie said the operating costs were expected to increase by 40% due to the extended operating hours.

Azimie said the waste would be sorted to separate out materials which could be recycled to reduce the amount of rubbish that needed to be disposed of.

“This rubbish will then be compressed using machinery such as a backhoe. After that, it will be covered with red soil to avoid vector insects and odours,” he said. – Bernama, December 26, 2021.