State grills Phee over illegal plastic plants
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GEORGE TOWN: dered import of plastic waste from around the world to Penang was the main reason state Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh (pic) was given a hard time at the state assembly.’
Phee got grilled by assemblymen whose constituencies are known to own many of the 200-plus illegal plastic recycling centres.
Among them were Lee Khai Loon (PH-Machang Bubok) and Jason H’ng (PH-Jawi), who wanted answers on enforcement action to stop the illegal and highly polluting activity.
Phee ended up prattling loudly about the challenges of curtailing the activity to the point that state assembly Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang had to rein him in and remind him to keep to the point.
The exco member left the hall after his lengthy answer to get a cup of coffee but ran into a wall of journalists who also wanted answers.
“Yes, it is already out of control. We are being forced into a corner so we have got to fight back with proper controls,” he said.
Phee said plans are afoot to ban the import of municipal plastic waste from around the world and only allow plastic recyclers to process pre-consumer plastic waste.
“When factories make plastic products, there will be rejects and these are recycled too. That’s pre-consumer plastic waste. We want Penang’s recyclers to only process that,” he told reporters.
He said Penang would propose an integrated operation involving several government agencies to check every container load of plastic waste arriving at the North Butterworth Container Terminal.
“I don’t mean just open and look. We must empty the contents and make sure no municipal waste or e-waste is being smuggled in,” he said.
Once checked, he said the containers must get the Customs seals and if recyclers break the seals before the containers reach the factories, they will be charged.
Admitting that it would take a lot of manpower for this level of enforcement, Phee replied: “It is less work than cleaning up the environment.”
He also said the state was studying how to cluster licensed plastic recyclers in the buffer zone of Pulau Burung landfill.
He said the state was willing to allow the industry, but operators must be disciplined and clean.
“You cannot make a profit at the expense of society and the environment.”
Meanwhile, state Domestic and International Trade Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain, who is also Batu Maung assemblyman, revealed in a press statement that his service centre officers identified several areas in his constituency being used as disposal sites for industrial and construction waste.
He said fires at the site, believed to be started by scavengers burning insulated wires to get at the copper, burned for nearly two days and jeopardised flights with thick smoke.
He urged authorities to take immediate action and prevent lorries from dumping waste in those places.