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No to Mindless Incineration and Landfilling of Waste

  • Publication Date | September 25, 2018
  • Document Type | Media Statement
  • Programmes | Pollution & Extractives
  • Issues | Energy, Pollution, Toxics, Waste
  • Tags | dioxins, furan, incinerators, landfill
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The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) are very disappointed with the government of Malaysia’s target of each state having at least one incinerator of waste-to-energy (WTE) plant within the next two years, as reported in Bernama news.

Incineration is an unsustainable way of dealing with resources and the most expensive way to manage waste and produce electricity.  Waste incineration or so called “waste-to-energy” facility is an ‘end-of-pipe’ approach for resource and waste management that does not tackle the problem at source.

Minister of Housing and Local Government Zuraida Kamaruddin was quoted saying that incineration would make for a cleaner process of solid waste disposal which would also save on land use as it would not require opening up new rubbish disposal sites in the future. Mind you, waste-to-energy facilities do not miraculously make waste disappear.

The process of incineration merely transforms the waste into other forms of waste, such as toxic ash and air and water pollution, which are harder to contain and usually more toxic than the original form of the waste.  Hazardous ash amount to as much as 30% of the total waste burned. The bottom ash from incinerators has to be landfilled whilst the fly ash which is considered scheduled waste has to be treated and disposed as well.

All incinerators pose considerable risks to the health and environment of neighbouring communities as well as that of the general population.  Even the most “advanced” incinerators release thousands of pollutants that contaminate our air, soil and water.  Many of these pollutants enter the food supply and concentrate up through the food chain.

Incinerators are major emitters of cancer-causing dioxins and furans. A public health impact report states that modern incinerators in the European Union are a major source of ultra-fine particulate emissions[1]. In 2017, another study revealed that particulate matter contributed to over 4 million premature deaths globally in 2015[2].

Regulatory agencies in the United States of America have found that incinerators are prone to various types of malfunctions, system failures and breakdowns, which routinely lead to serious air pollution control problems and increased emissions that are dangerous to public health[3].

The Minister also stated that rubbish disposal using incinerators will produce electrical energy and gas, the contractor will generate income from the sale of electricity and gas to cover the cost of building the WTE plant.

In actual fact, incinerators are a massive waste of energy. Due to the low calorific value of waste, incinerators are only able to generate small amounts of energy while destroying large amounts of reusable materials. Because energy produced by “waste-to-energy” incinerators is marginal, it will not contribute substantially to the electricity grid.

Moreover, since waste in Malaysia is mostly organic, incinerators would need additional energy input to first process the waste to make it suitable for burning, and then burn it, negatively affecting the energy balance of these facilities. The Malaysian government should learn from past experiences and not repeat the same mistakes.

From the broader perspective of sustainability, incinerators are a losing proposition and are fundamentally incompatible with a closed-loop and circular economy. They are essentially destroyers of discarded products and materials, and concentrators of toxicity.

More than 90% of materials currently disposed of in incinerators and landfills can be reused, recycled or composted. Burning these materials in order to generate electricity discourages much needed efforts to conserve resources and reduce packaging and waste, and also undermines energy-conserving practices such as recycling and composting.

Globally, there is a strong move away from incineration and towards Zero Waste.  In Malaysia too many communities are embracing zero waste and working towards minimising waste generation.  A focus on Zero Waste approaches to waste and resource management, which include reduction, reuse, recycling and composting, are cost-effective and safer options that generate jobs while protecting the climate and the environment.

The Malaysian government needs to look beyond the PR of “waste-to-energy” companies and choose options that promote, not undermine, sustainability. 

Go Zero Waste! Don’t Burn or Bury Waste!

Mohamed Idris

President

[1] Howard, C.Vyvyan, Statement of Evidence, Particulate Emissions and Health, Proposed Ringaskiddy Waste-to-Energy Facility, June 2009

[2] Health Effects Institute. 2017. State of Global Air 2017. Special Report. Boston, MA:Health Effects Institute. https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/SoGA2017_report.pdf.

[3] Massachusetts Department of Environment citations for violations by Covanta Haverhill Incinerator: http://www.cjcw.org/notice/Covanta_Massachusetts_environmental_violations.pdf

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Testimonials

Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah satu badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang telah sekian lama berjuang mempertahan kelestarian alam. Ia juga mendidik masyarakat tentang pentingnya kebersamaan dalam pemikiran dan tindakan agar alam ini dapat kita wariskan kepada generasi hadapan dalam keadaan yang elok dan terpelihara. Dalam pada itu juga SAM giat membantu golongan nelayan pantai dalam memperjuangkan hak-hak mereka sehinggalah tertubuhnya Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING). Nelayan pantai sepenuh masa ini dididik oleh SAM sehingga mereka mampu memainkan peranan sebagai pemimpin nelayan yang meneruskan kesinambungan memperjuangkan hak-hak nelayan pantai lainnya. Sebagai contoh SAM telah berjaya menyedarkan masyarakat nelayan keperluan menjaga hutan paya bakau untuk kebaikan hasil tangkapan nelayan itu sendiri.
Jamaluddin Mohamad Bualik
Jamaluddin Mohamad BualikPersatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Jaringan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING)
During the 1980s, I used to read about the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) in the news. After retirement, some time in 2001, while lazing around, I read news about the construction of a carbon in leach plant using sodium cyanide to extract gold in Bukit Koman. My friends and I visited CAP and we were introduced to SAM and her legal team. We discussed the details of filing a case against the gold mining company and the department of environment with Ms Meenakshi Raman and her legal team. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between lawyers from SAM and many of us from Bukit Koman. We had many ups and downs in our struggle to shut down the gold mine that was causing a nuisance in our village. But, as a community we never gave up because SAM had our backs.
Hue Fui How
Hue Fui HowSecretary, Bukit Koman Ban Cyanide in Goldmining Action Committee (BCAC)
Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah sebuah NGO yang memperjuangkan nasib masyarakat luar bandar khasnya. SAM menerima aduan-aduan masyarakat dan menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi. SAM telah mewujudkan ramai aktivis-aktivis sosial dan alam sekitar. Pada era 1980 dan 90an SAM sangat dihormati oleh masyarakat dan agensi kerajaan. Apabila media sosial menguasai maklumat maka SAM pun terkesan dan masalah masyarakat terus disalurkan dengan pelbagai cara. SAM perlu mewujudkan aktivis-aktivis pelapis yang muda untuk terus membantu masyarakat. SAM juga perlu membuat perubahan supaya banyak turun kelapangan dan jangan mengharapkan laporan media sahaja. Tingkatkan prestasi sebagaimana pada zaman kegemilangan SAM di era 80-90an.
Che Ani Mt Zain
Che Ani Mt Zain
SAM taught me the importance of social activism and the role it plays in upholding the rights of people and the protection of the environment. In my experience, SAM has never hesitated to speak up in defence of people and their environment, and has gone the extra mile to champion their rights, by helping communities take their battles to the higher ups and even to the courts.
Jessica Binwani
Jessica BinwaniPublic/Private Interest Lawyer
Semenjak kami kenal SAM, banyak pengalaman dan pengetahuan yg kami dapat. Kami telah belajar cara membuat baja asli daripada SAM. Semenjak itu, bermulalah minat kami dalam aktiviti pertanian. Dengan memperolehi kemahiran dalam membuat baja asli dan penanaman lestari, kami juga telah dapat menambahkan pendapatan sampingan kami. Ini lebih baik daripada tanah kami terbiar dan tidak diusahakan. Terima kasih SAM kerana sudi memberi bantuan dan tunjuk ajar kepada Persatuan kami.
Chedo Anak Nyuwen
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My journey with SAM started when her community organisers took me to the meet the paddy farmers of Kedah, connecting my growing interest in environmental law with our people who struggle to work the land in the face of pollution, replacement of traditional seeds with commercial hybrids and their accompanying chemical package of fertilisers and weedicides. I then had the honour to work with SAM in the struggle for the rights of the native communities of Sarawak, in defence of their forests from massive logging and destructive mega-projects. In every issue that SAM takes up, she combines rigorous research with the realities and voices of the communities to advocate for policies and laws that care for people and nature. From the courts to the elected legislators to policy makers and implementers and to the United Nations, SAM walks side by side with the communities in Malaysia. How can I not be inspired by the vision and passion of the generations of women and men who coalesce to form SAM?
Chee Yoke Ling
Chee Yoke Lingstudent of SAM, Executive Director of Third World Network, SAM’s sister organisation

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Headquarters)
No. 1, Jalan Joki,
11400 Penang,
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Tel: +604 827 6930
Fax: +604 827 6932

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129A, First Floor,
Jalan Tuanku Taha,
P.O.Box 216,
98058 Marudi,
Baram, Sarawak,
Malaysia
Tel & Fax: +6085 758 973

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Headquarters)
No. 1, Jalan Joki, 11400 Penang,
Malaysia
Tel: +604 827 6930
Fax: +604 827 6932

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Marudi Office)
129A, First Floor,
Jalan Tuanku Taha,
P.O.Box 216,
98058 Marudi, Baram, Sarawak,
Malaysia
Tel & Fax: +6085 758 973

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