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Small town, one big dumpsite for plastic waste

Najjua Zulkefli6 years ago21st Mar 2019Pictures
Plastic waste import jenjarom 05
Resident turned activist Pua Lay Peng looks at piles of plastic waste at an illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. She says the factory and others like it are profiting at the expense of the health of the people and the environment. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
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SINCE China banned the import of plastic waste in 2017, Malaysia has become one of the world’s biggest plastic importers, receiving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish each year. And a small town called Jenjarom is paying the price. 

Home to about 30,000 people, about 20km southeast of Port Klang, Jenjarom is the main dumping site for the plastic waste arriving through the country’s main port.

In January to July last year, Malaysia received 754,000 tonnes of plastic waste, mostly from the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia, according to Greenpeace.

Not all plastics can be recycled. But instead of handing over unrecyclable scraps and parts to waste centres for proper disposal, the illegal factories save costs by burning the plastics, releasing noxious fumes that threaten public health. A study found that exposure to the fumes of burning plastic waste increases the risk of heart disease and damage to the nervous system.

For the most part, these fumes are gone from Jenjarom after the government shuttered 33 illegal factories that has sprung up in the small town. What’s still there are about 17,000 tonnes of waste piled high in heaps, giving the town the look of a giant landfill.

Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said there were several ways to manage the waste, the most feasible being to send the plastics to a cement plant to be burnt as a heat source for the boiler. She added that the transport costs were nearly RM2.5 million. Not surprisingly, no one has taken up the offer.

Yeo said a 139 illegal plastic waste recycling factories had been shut down across Malaysia since January.

Malaysia only allows the import of clean plastic scrap that could be recycled into resin, and only 19 out of 114 approved permit holders currently meet the requirements to import plastic scrap, said Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin. – March 21, 2019.

Resident turned activist Pua Lay Peng looks at piles of plastic waste at an illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. She says the factory and others like it are profiting at the expense of the health of the people and the environment. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Resident turned activist Pua Lay Peng looks at piles of plastic waste at an illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. She says the factory and others like it are profiting at the expense of the health of the people and the environment. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Instead of properly disposing of nonrecyclable plastic scraps at the waste centres, illegal recycling factories in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, save costs by burning the scraps, releasing noxious fumes. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Instead of properly disposing of nonrecyclable plastic scraps at the waste centres, illegal recycling factories in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, save costs by burning the scraps, releasing noxious fumes. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Plastic bales behind the broken fence of an illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, about 20km southeast of Port Klang. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Plastic bales behind the broken fence of an illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, about 20km southeast of Port Klang. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Although the government has shut down 33 illegal factories in Jenjarom, thousands of tonnes of plastic waste remain piled in high heaps, transforming the small town into a giant landfill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Although the government has shut down 33 illegal factories in Jenjarom, thousands of tonnes of plastic waste remain piled in high heaps, transforming the small town into a giant landfill. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
In January to July last year, Malaysia received 754,000 tonnes of plastic waste, mostly from Germany, the UK, Japan and Australia. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
In January to July last year, Malaysia received 754,000 tonnes of plastic waste, mostly from Germany, the UK, Japan and Australia. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
The government says only plastics that can be recycled into resin may be imported, but that has not stopped illegal recycling factories from springing up across the country. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
The government says only plastics that can be recycled into resin may be imported, but that has not stopped illegal recycling factories from springing up across the country. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Bales of plastic are left behind when an an illegal recycling plant is abandoned, in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Bales of plastic are left behind when an an illegal recycling plant is abandoned, in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Representatives of an environmental group inspect an abandoned illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Selangor. They say the owners of the factories that have been shut down in the small town have merely moved their operations elsewhere. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Representatives of an environmental group inspect an abandoned illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom, Selangor. They say the owners of the factories that have been shut down in the small town have merely moved their operations elsewhere. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Life goes on in Jenjarom, population 30,000, amid pollution and public health risks posed by the illegal recycling factories, in Kuala Langat, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Life goes on in Jenjarom, population 30,000, amid pollution and public health risks posed by the illegal recycling factories, in Kuala Langat, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
A man works on a pineapple farm in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
A man works on a pineapple farm in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Jenjarom breathes easier these days now that the many illegal recycling factories have been shut down in the small town near Port Klang. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Jenjarom breathes easier these days now that the many illegal recycling factories have been shut down in the small town near Port Klang. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Much of the imported plastic waste arrives by sea in ships that dock at Port Klang. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
Much of the imported plastic waste arrives by sea in ships that dock at Port Klang. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
The motorbike is the villagers’ preferred mode of transport in Jenjarom, Kuala Lumpur, especially now that the air is no longer polluted by illegal recycling factories belching toxic fumes. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
The motorbike is the villagers’ preferred mode of transport in Jenjarom, Kuala Lumpur, especially now that the air is no longer polluted by illegal recycling factories belching toxic fumes. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, March 21, 2019.
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