UPP hopes to acquire composting machine to recycle organic wastes
SIBU: United People’s Party (UPP) Community Service Board Sibu hopes to implement the recycling of organic waste into compost.
Its board chairman Dato Andrew Wong observes that the volume of organic waste usually goes up when fruits are in season and eventually ends up in landfills.
The former Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) deputy chairman recalled during his tenure at the council that the tonnage climbed by perhaps between 20 and 30 per cent at the end of the year, especially when durians were in season.
“If we are able to recycle or compost this organic waste, it would save a lot of space at the landfill. So, what we need is a composting machine.
“We have identified several models of composting machines made in USA, Germany and Taiwan. We are waiting to confirm the final model before officially writing to SMC so that we can work together with them,” he said at Rancangan Sibu 1 ( RS1) mobile service counter in Kampung Jeriah here on Saturday.
Wong, who is RS1 chairman, added that the machine costs between RM200,000 to RM250,000 each as it must be able to handle the volume with minimal maintenance cost.
Adding on, he explained once their side has acquired the machine, it has to be placed at a strategic location to encourage hawkers to bring their everyday organic waste such as vegetables and fruits for composting.
“We are thinking of Sibu Central Market but have not written to SMC yet. We will foot the cost of the machine but the maintenance and management will be under SMC,” he clarified.
For the record, RM600,000 is allocated under RS1 for the implementation of organic waste recycling through composting machines, targeting 500 tonnes of organic waste per day, or 15,000 tonnes per month, with the compost to be distributed to all community parks to be used as fertilisers.
Meanwhile, the RS1 team received overwhelming response from the public during the meetthe-people session at Kampung Jeriah here.
Services provided included attending to complaints and inquiries, providing assistance with BR1M 2018 application and updates, checking election voting status and information, community policing (distribution of crime prevention leaflets and member recruitment), free eye screening as well as blood pressure and glucose screening.
UPP Community Service Board Sibu Social Community Development deputy chairman Andrew Ting was also present.