No illegal plastic recycling factories in Sabah: DoE
Published on: Tuesday, January 22, 2019
By: Ricardo Unto
Kota Kinabalu: All plastic recycling factories in the State are running their operations legally, said the State Department of Environment (DoE).
“There are about 30 plastic recycling factories in the State with most being located in Kota Kinabalu area,” said a DoE official when contacted, Monday.
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“The Department had made inspections sine November last year and we found that all plastic recycling factories in Sabah have licenses.”
Apart from domestic plastic waste, some of the factories process plastic waste imports as well.
“Factories are required to obtain the permit before being allowed to bring in plastic waste.
“However, at the moment, the permit issuance had been suspended temporarily,” he said.
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Recently, it was reported that the DoE aimed to shut down 100 illegal plastic recycling factories by the end of March this year.
Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin was reported as saying that the target date was given as the nation is still plagued by plastic waste that was brought in before the July 2018 freeze on plastic waste imports came into force.
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It was made to understand that the Department had detected 97 illegal factories nationwide – 61 in Selangor, 10 in Kedah, 10 in Negeri Sembilan and six in Johor.
So far, they have shut down 61 illegal factories involving hundreds of tonnes of plastic waste in Selangor, which is a hotspot for illegal factories due to its proximity to the port, yeo said.
On complaints of illegal factories resuming operations despite being shut down, Yeo said Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) would cut off their electricity supply.
Yeo said the government would also conduct checks on licensed plastic recycling factories to ensure they comply with the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
Out of the 48 legal plastic recycling factories in Selangor, 20 were found to be polluting the environment and have been shut down, she said.
She added, should any legal plastic recycling factories be found guilty of violating regulations in the Environmental Quality Act concerning air regulation, effluents, and the like, they are liable to be brought to court and fined, with the possibility of their operations being closed down.
She added that the ministry has opened 36 investigation papers into the operators of the illegal factories and will ensure that these do not shift to other locations.
Earlier, Federal Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin revealed that only 19 out of 114 plastic waste AP (approved permit) holders currently pass requirements to import plastic scrap into the country.
She said that out of the 114 AP holders, only 54 were active.
In July last year, the Housing and Local Government Ministry announced the freezing of plastic waste imports following incidents of pollution in Kuala Langat, Selangor from illegal factories processing the waste.
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