EQC Visits the KIWMP
Friday, 29/02/2008, Kuching
TREATING LEACHATE : Council delegates listening to the briefing on the process of treating leachate water at the facility. The group was led by the EQC Chairman Dato’ Kok Wee Kiat (third left) and Director-General of Department of Environment Malaysia, Dato’ Hajjah Rosnani bt Ibarahim (fifth left).
Mitigation of environmental impacts brought by waste management operations is achievable via proper planning and modern technologies as witnessed by the 30-member delegation from the Environment Quality Council (EQC) of Malaysia who visited the Kuching Integrated Waste Management Park (KIWMP) in Mambong as part of the council’s 2-day meeting programme held in Kuching recently
Led by the Honourable Chairman of EQC, Dato’ Kok Wee Kiat and the Director-General of Department of Environment, Dato’ Hajjah Rosnani binti Ibarahim, the group witnessed firsthand the operational components of the KIWMP which is one of the important part of the Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) implemented here in Sarawak.
Present in welcoming the group was Trienekens (Sarawak) Sdn. Bhd.’s Managing Director, Mr. Gerhard Aulbert and members of the management team, who provided a comprehensive overview of the company’s background, functions and operations.
STRENGTH OF FLEET: Trienekens’ Managing Director Mr. Gerhard Aulbert explaining the waste transportation and storage of scheduled waste at the KIWMP
Council members were also briefed on the background history of solid waste management in Sarawak, before and after the implementation of the integrated system as well as the overall management of municipal solid wastes and scheduled wastes comprising of collection, transportation and disposal services.
The group later visited the various operations components of the facility such as the sanitary landfill, leachate water treatment plant, new scheduled waste storage facility, secure landfill and the scheduled waste incineration plant.
Various processes and environmental engineering technologies in managing waste at the facility were also presented and discussed during the site visit. Included in the discussion as well was the recently embarked project on energy recovery involving the extraction of methane gas from the landfill to be used as an alternative source of green energy for the facility.
BETTER UNDERSTANDING: EQC delegates and staff of Trienekens at the end of the visit.
The group learned that the overall facility in Mambong was designed and developed to ensure that all types of wastes are being treated and disposed of using modern approaches that eliminate all negative impacts to the environment. It is a pivotal part of the integrated solid waste management system which aims at elevating the hygiene and living standards in Sarawak.
Accompanying the group was also the State Director of the Department of Environment, Tuan Haji Ismail bin Ithnin and Natural Resources and Environment Board Deputy Controller, Mr. Peter Sawal.
