SWCorp declares Bandar Muadzam Shah landfill off-limits to stop scavenging

SWCorp has closed the Bandar Muadzam Shah landfill here to the public with immediate effect.

Pahang Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) director Sharudin Hamid said the waste disposal site is a restricted area and only SWCorp-designated operators and lorries are allowed to enter the site, but there have been cases of trespassing.

"The directives and standard operating procedures are quite clear in relation to the ban. We do not want others searching for recycled materials (at the landfill) because the area can be hazardous and a health risk.

"We have instructed the operator of the site not to allow the public in, and the place is guarded round the clock by five employees," he told reporters yesterday.

Sharudin had earlier attended a dialogue between Minister in the Prime Minister's Department senator P Waytha Moorthy (photo, above) and the Orang Asli from the Jakun community in Kampung Bukit Biru, an Orang Asli settlement, here.

He said SWCorp had also directed the operator to close the rear entrance to the landfill immediately as it is understood that some members of the public use that route.

The Orang Asli have been looking for recyclables at the landfill for years.

"We ask them to leave but they keep coming back to look for recyclables. However, since the media reports on their search for recyclables, their numbers have come down.

"In fact, seven families which erected sheds at the landfill have also left. They had put up the sheds so that they can rest there after looking for recyclables or wait for the refuse trucks to come,” he said.

- Bernama