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PETALING JAYA: Environmental groups have lashed out at Malay­sians’ appalling attitude over proper trash disposal and called for stricter enforcement. Environmental Protection Society Malaysia president Nithi Nesadurai said Malaysians were “very casual” about rubbish disposal. “It is not because they lack awareness,” he said yesterday. “People know that they shouldn’t be flushing rubbish down the toilet, but they don’t seem to care,” he added.

“This wrong attitude has become part and parcel of our lifestyle.” Nithi said there was a need for a drastic change in the public’s mindset. “And, this could happen with stricter enforcement,” Nithi said. “Perhaps, we should follow the Singaporean way and penalise those responsible,” he said, adding that besides throwing rubbish into the sewage systems, Malaysians also had no qualms about littering in public places.

EcoKnights president Yasmin Rasyid concurred. She expressed dismay that people did not throw their rubbish, including sanitary pads, into proper waste bins. “It seems that the Malaysian mentality is not up to par and there is only so much that Indah Water Konsortium can do,” she added. Yasmin proposed to make it mandatory that all coffeeshops, restaurants and other public places provided trash bins for people to dispose waste, including used sanitary pads.

“Proper bins may not be available in rural areas and hence, this may lead some to flush their used sanitary pads down the toilet,” Yasmin said. Malaysian Nature Society president Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed said the overflow of sewage onto roads due to clogged sewer pipes was bad for the environment. “The pollutants will end up in streams and rivers.”

 

Dead foetuses among rubbish found clogging up sewage system

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians dump 60,000 tonnes of rubbish an amount that can fill almost 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools into the sewage treatment system every year. Although the treatment process under Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) is designed for dealing with domestic waste, the mess that ends up in pipes and treatment plants includes discarded plastic items, diapers, sanitary pads and condoms.

More distressingly, IWK has also been finding dead foetuses in its treatment plants, some with umbilical cords attached. There have been an average of five such finds in a year. “They are usually found in a decayed state and sometimes, without limbs,” IWK communications head Azzatullina Pawanchik said.

IWK workers had also come across dumped foetuses while investigating clogged pipes in several areas. Azzatullina said IWK would usually lodge police reports and help in the investigations. She said 20,000 cases of clogged sewer pipes were reported last year, adding that IWK had to spend RM16mil to clear them and another RM8mil to remove the tonnes of rubbish from sewage treatment plants.

“To unclog sewer pipes, we have to deploy high pressure, jet-powered machines to clear some blockages. The exercise requires state of the art equipment, including CCTVs and skilled manpower,” said Azzatullina. She hoped that the people would play their role by not throwing foreign objects indiscriminately into toilets. Azzatullina said the entry of non-sewage items into underground sewerage pipes would block the flow, resulting in sewage overflowing via manholes on roads.

“The untreated sewage will then flow into drains, creating pollution and unpleasant situations for the public,” she said. She said clogged pipes could also create “backflows” into the toilets of houses.

If the improperly discarded rubbish passes through the pipes it could eventually enter the treatment plant and mess up the process.

Apart from rubbish, other common non-sewage items found in treatment facilities are oil, grease and industrial sludge. IWK, a sewerage services company owned by Ministry of Finance Incorporated, resolves blockages within 24 hours. For such services, call its toll-free line at 1-800-88-3495 or e-mail care@iwk.com.my, or sms 36399 (type IWKmessage).

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