NRE to issue guideline on chicken waste disposal, treatment
KULAI: The Natural Resource and Environment Ministry (NRE) will issue a guideline on chicken waste disposal management and treatment in the near future to prevent river pollution associated with the waste.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the ministry was still in talks with the Department of Environment ( DoE) as well as chicken farms and chicken manure processing operators.
“The guideline on treating chicken manure and waste management will be (further) discussed and issued by the ministry and DOE in the near future to address the problem of ammonia contamination.
“It will also contain guides on the cultivation of crops along riverside which is capable of treating and reducing the effects of ammonia, although this may take a long time,” he told reporters after checking the operations of a chicken manure processing factory and a poultry farm in Kampung Murni Jaya here yesterday.
Wan Junaidi added the guideline needed to be flexible and favourable to the weather, especially during dry and rainy seasons.
“Once the guideline is completed, it will not only be used by factories in Johor but also at all similar factories in the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi said there were still many areas of improvement to be made by the chicken manure processing plant, United Propel Sdn Bhd, which caused ammonia contamination in Sungai Sayong.
“I am informed that the factory is in the process of acquiring a more efficient waste processing machine from overseas. So, we will see its effectiveness after the machine arrives here.
“We take this matter seriously because the waste from the factory had been the source of pollution to four water treatment plants ( LRAs) in Johor, in which one of the plants is supplying water to Singapore and three others to over 60,000 account holders in the state,” he said.
According to the minister, checks on the current ammonia content in Sungai Sayong was still satisfactory due to the high water level and its rapid flow.
“So far, the level of Biochemical Oxygen Demand is still satisfactory. The ammonia content in the river is not high due to the dilution of Sungai Sayong following its deep water and rapid flow.
“However, it will be dangerous during the dry season where the low water level will cause the ammonia reading to go high and pose a risk. Subsequently, this will cause LRAs to be closed. We do not want this to recur,” he said.
Prior to this, four water treatment plants – namely LRA Sungai Sayong, LRA Semanggar, LRA Sungai Johor and LRA Johor River Waterworks under the Public Utilities Board ( PUB) of Singapore – were closed following several such incidents over the past two years. — Bernama