By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, Aug 3 — The state government stands by its decision to carry on with the waste-to-energy (WTE) project instead of landfills, to reduce the negative environmental impact.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said despite the high costs, Selangor is confident the project under Worldwide Holdings Berhad will be more effective as it is in line with the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) best practises.
He said the project, which has already started in Jeram, Kuala Selangor and Tanjung Dua Belas in Kuala Langat, was not hastily done but following thorough a research process over the past 15 years.
“WTE is the future and the state government is ready to finance part of the cost to reduce the tipping fees. In total, this project is far better than continuing the landfill method of disposing solid waste.
“If the landfill method is continued, we will lose thousands of acres of land that supposedly involve a lower cost yet the environmental risks are more severe if solid waste is not disposed of properly,” Amirudin said during the winding-up session of the First Selangor Plan (RS-1) at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly here yesterday.
Earlier during the session, Sungai Pelek state assemblyman Ronnie Liu questioned the WTE project, describing it as outdated and suggested changing to the zero-to-energy method.
Amirudin said the zero-to-energy method has been studied but its implementation must be done in stages and will take a longer time.
“We are handling 7,000 metric tonnes of solid waste every day, so how can we manage it more efficiently? This is why WTE is the best solution at the present. Also, zero-to-energy is for factories, what about houses?” he said.
During RS-1’s tabling on July 27, Amirudin said Selangor has outlined two strategies and five projects, together with programmes as well as initiatives to solve the issue of mounting solid waste.
Three of these are game changers including the development of the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), Waste Management Action Plan as well as the Integrated Solid Waste Management Centre (ISWMC) and the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants.
The plan aims to use the WTE plants, biogas filtration and many more innovative solutions to turn solid waste into renewable energy.
