Human Pressure on the Park - Rubbish!

It is very disheartening to see the trail of rubbish along some of the quiet roads that wind through Taman Negeri Selangor. 

One particular example is along the B116 (Jalan Sg. Tekali).  Having driven along this road, heading to Sg. Tekala Recreation Forest on many occasions, the mountains of rubbish seem to be increasing in both size and in the number of locations.  Along some stretches of the road, the piles of rubbish are so huge that they block an entire lane of the road, making the 2-way road into a dangerous single lane.   

Piles of rubbish are also being dumped over the edge of the road, along the forest slopes, where it is less obvious to travelers along the road.  There are also now huge piles of rubbish beginning to appear along the B19, both on the way to Sg. Congkak and to Sg. Tekala Recreation Forests.  This illegal dumping along the public roads and in the forest reserves bordering the roads in this area in particular has become a serious situation.

TrEES has written to the local council (with cc copy to the State), and spoken to a representative.   Efforts are being made to clean up the mess.  It is difficult for the local council to keep up with the amount being thrown along these quiet roads.  

Something needs to be done to stop the illegal dumping from happening (or at least to greatly reduce the frequency!)  This is definitely not an easy task.  All contractors that are hired by a local council or other organizations, should be required to produce an official receipt from the proper dumpsite as proof that waste was dumped legally and properly BEFORE any payment is made to the contractor for that disposal.   I believe MPSJ has implemented such a system to help curb illegal dumping.

The piles of rubbish should be investigated, to determine the type of rubbish, to thus determine the source of the rubbish.  The local councils may then be able tell if the waste is coming from the local factories, recycling separation centres, wet markets, etc.   Overnight observation on random occasions every month could be done at troublesome spots along the roads.  Looking at the amount of rubbish in some places, it is probably dumped nearly every night.

This rubbish is coming from neighborhoods, from night markets, from contractors - from you and me.  We’ve got to take more action to reduce our waste, and be more responsible for the waste we produce. 

What can we do?

-       reduce disposable plastic and styrofoam use

-       bring your own bag to the pasar malam, ask the stall owners to dispose of their rubbish in a proper bin

-       make sure your contractor disposes of your renovation waste properly

-       report illegal dumping immediately to the local authority

Clearly, it’s a mountain of a task.  Let’s all try to do our part to solve this problem!