CYBERJAYA: KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) said it has collected 73 metric tons (tonnes) of excess food waste from 10,854 Ramadan bazaars in seven local authority areas (PBT) in Selangor for the first two weeks of Ramadan this year.
KDEBWM managing director Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir (pix) said the figure for the dumping of excess food waste did not show a decrease when compared to last year’s extravagance.
“We (KDEBWM) found there is still food dumping at Ramadan bazaars. In 2023, the record showed 73.67 metric tons of garbage collected from Ramadan bazaars. In these first two weeks, the figure is about 73 (tonnes), 75 and 76.”
To break the cycle, Ramli advised restraint for vendors to estimate potential sales before cooking.
“So I appeal to all bazaar traders, that you don’t need to cook too much because in a bazaar there are naturally many choices sold by other vendors,” he said, reminding traders and the community that they should reflect on the plight of the Palestinian people who are under siege and facing starvation.
“(Hence) I support the MySaveFood programme 100 per cent, save what you can by giving to the needy,” he told Bernama after attending the launch of the Automated drive-through recycling centre (ADTRC) here today.
Sepang Municipal Council (MPS) chairman Datuk Abdul Hamid Hussain, who launched the automated centre for recyclables at the Cyberjaya Recycling Centre, said the ADTRC would save RM500,000 on solid waste management cost a year, or a saving of 10 per cent of the RM4.5 million spent annually.
“We can use this meaningful amount to build children’s playgrounds, repair roads, plant trees or any project that can benefit the local population.
“This system operates 24 hours a day with a do-it-yourself (DIY) concept. As an incentive, members of the public who drop off recycled goods will be paid. Congratulations and thanks to KDEBWM for developing this system,” he said.
Use of the facility is DIY as it is equipped with a user manual coupled with CCTV for safety, thus saving RM500,000 in salary otherwise paid to workers manning the centre manually.
Meanwhile, KDEBWM head Ramli Mohd Tahir added that the Cyberjaya ADTRC, which was built by children and powered by solar energy, was built at a cost of RM50,000.
He said the payment rate for recyclables dropped off is set between RM0.60 and RM1 per kg for plastic goods.
“Payment is made online after 48 hours of the verification process done based on information entered after the user scans the QR code when signing up,” Ramli said. -Bernama
