By Amin Ridzuan Ishak
SHAH ALAM, April 15 — Local authorities should tighten the enforcement on dumping of waste illegally to prevent the pollution of the environment, says state executive councillor Hee Loy Sian.
The State Environment, Green Technology, Science and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman said items such as face masks, hand sanitiser bottles and disposable gloves found to have recently polluted the Sungai Klang could have been washed away into the river from the illegal sites.
He said the illegal disposal of waste, which are hundreds in number along the Sungai Klang riverbank, contribute to the pollution of the river.
“Many would come out to dump the waste in the middle of the night to avoid the being caught by the authorities. The used face masked and gloves recently found in Sungai Klang could have been their doing,” he told SelangorKini when contacted yesterday.
Hee said this was also because the rubbish such as disposable masks and gloves are not categorised as clinical waste, which would be disposed of by the Environment Department in a special location in Kuala Langat.
On Tuesday, it was reported that used gloves, face masks and hand sanitiser bottles have polluted the Klang river throughout the Covid-19 outbreak since March.
Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB), which is responsible for the cleansing and rehabilitation of Sungai Klang, had categorised the items as the latest discovery of waste to pollute the river.
