Waste - it is everyone's business!
It was a fun-filled and educational Saturday for 31 participants between the age of 14 to 61 years old who took part in Penang Green Council’s eco-tour, Green Map - Golden Belt. This half day eco-tour explored Batu Maung Solid Waste Transfer Station, a new transfer station facility in Penang and Taman Bagan Lalang Recycling Centre, an exemplary model for community-based efforts. We all know that the most critical component in any waste management program is public awareness and participation, in addition to appropriate legislation, technical support and adequate funding.
Their first stop was Batu Maung Solid Waste Transfer Station.
“The RM75 million new infrastructure launched in January 2019 will service the Penang City Council (MBPP) and Penang Island as an integrated solid waste management facility which would overcome issues related to transfer and disposal of bulk and domestic waste. ”
This station is also equipped with recycling facility, leachate treatment and organic waste to energy processing facility. Here, participants were briefed on their daily operation from the moment garbage trucks enter the facility in detail. They were then brought on a walkabout tour to see for themselves the processes. It was indeed a great eye-opening experience for many!
The excursion continued on to the next location, a community led recycling centre - Taman Bagan Lalang Recycling Centre. The site where this centre sits on used to be a vacant land surrounded by trees. The trees were not uprooted but instead trimmed to still provide shading to the surroundings. In 2010, the State Government provided seeding fund such as a container office to be used as a meeting place. This centre was then made an education and awareness centre in the Northern District of Seberang Perai.
Among the initiatives carried out to encourage residents in the neighbourhood to move towards a zero-waste lifestyle includes kitchen waste composting where participating households are given a bin to be filled up and get rewarded, segregating and recycling their waste as well as making detergent from fruit peels. Our lucky participants got to make from scratch and bag home their own handmade detergent out of natural enzymes.
Know where your trash goes!
It was a fruitful and successful outdoor tour for everyone. We want to carve in the minds of everyone that every piece of trash tossed out will not disappear on its own, it goes through a series of process that requires so much resources to then just end up deeply planted in the landfill. If we could be more considerate of the one and only landfill Pulau Burung that we have in Penang, we could be salvaging more lands claimed to be turned into landfills in the future.
Special thanks to the management of Batu Maung Solid Waste Transfer Station and Taman Bagan Lalang Recycling Centre for hosting us. It is our pleasure here at Penang Green Council to organise such a programme for Penangites!
Don’t worry if you missed it this time, just follow our Facebook page - Penang Green Council for more updates. Under this Green Map, we also have Blue Belt where we explore on the water supply and wastewater treatment system in Penang.
Do not miss this opportunity to be a mindful Penangite!