By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
SHAH ALAM, Jan 14 — State-appointed project management company KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) is now targeting the second phase of its cleanup operations in Selangor’s flood-affected areas to be completed within three months.
Its managing director Ramli Mohd Tahir said the phase, which began on January 8, will focus on collecting waste leftovers, and cleaning clogged drains and ditches.
He added an estimated 3,000 tonnes of garbage is cleaned up every day, before being sent to three disposal sites in Jeram, Tanjung 12, and Dengkil, respectively.
“The collected waste is immediately sent to the disposal sites, and will not be at the temporary transfer stations as those will all be closed,” Ramli said when contacted.
He said up to 8,000 KDEBWM personnel were mobilised to all the flood-affected areas for the second phase, including lorry drivers and garbage handlers.
According to Ramli, the cleaning is done manually, with personnel digging and sucking up the mud in drains using Catch Basin Cleaners.
“Our focus is to clean every back and side of houses, until we have succeeded in restoring the flood-affected area to its previous state,” he said.
The state government subsidiary company, which fully manages the collection of domestic waste since last year, has been cleaning flood-affected areas since December 20 in stages.
An estimated 78,000 tonnes of bulk waste has been cleaned up, with the cooperation of local authorities and other agencies, and fully concluded on January 7.
