By Alang Bendahara
SHAH ALAM, July 7 — At the current rate of waste generated in Selangor, its landfills can only last for another four years, said Worldwide Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Datin Paduka Norazlina Zakaria.
Realising this, she said the state-owned company in charge of solid waste management then embarked on a feasibility study concerning waste-to-energy (WTE) back in 2014.
“Alhamdulillah, next year we will begin the first phase of the development of three WTE plants, with two in the Jeram Sanitary Landfill and another at the Tanjung Dua Belas Sanitary Landfill. It is expected to be completed as early as 2025,” she said.
Norazlina was speaking to Media Selangor following the sustainability forum session that was held at the First Selangor Plan Pre-Launch Symposium at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Convention Centre earlier today, where she was one of the forum panellists.
She added that upon completion, Selangor will have the biggest WTE facilities in Malaysia as the three plants are capable of converting between 4,500 to 5,000 tonnes of waste into energy daily.
“So around 80 per cent of the current 6,500 tonnes of waste being sent to our landfills will be converted by the facilities into green technology.
“We will also build a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and for the anaerobic digestion (AD) process at the landfills,” Norazlina said.
MRF is a recycling process, while AD is used to manage waste or to produce fuels.
She said with the WTE, MRF and AD in place at the landfills, it will help Selangor achieve its zero net carbon emissions target at a much faster pace.
Aside from Norazlina, other panellists in the forum include state executive councillor for environment, climate change and green technology Hee Loy Sian, state executive councillor for local government and public transportation Ng Sze Han, state executive councillor for housing and urban wellbeing Rodziah Ismail and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Environmental and Development (Sustainability) Institute lecturer Profesor Joy Jacqueline Pereira.
