City Hall hopes to modify the area around bin centres in the central business district of the State Capital to better protect the surface of the roads around these facilities.
A spokesman for the agency’s Solid Waste Department said it was endeavouring to have perimeter drains and outlets put in place around each of the 36 centres in Kota Kinabalu.
“These centres are hosed down on a daily basis to get rid of the foul smell coming from traces of leachate which may remain when the rubbish is removed from these facilities,” he said.
“Our proposed structural modifications are meant to prevent the run-off from ponding in the public areas around the centres, especially the road.
“This soiled water has a corrosive effect on the bitumen. It can make the road-surface uneven and, in the worst instances, cause potholes to form.”
Leachate is the stinking liquid which is produced when garbage is compressed.
The spokesman said many of the bin centres in the City had been around for decades.
“Those who designed these facilities years ago did not make any provisions for the run-off or leachate.
“Any newer ones will have to include perimeter drains and an outlet to channel away this foul smelling discharge.”
He also called on eatery-owners in the City do their part by ensuring that their kitchen waste was adequately bagged.
They should drain any fluids from their refuse to minimise the nuisance created by the stench when their rubbish was cleared, according to him.
He said proprietors should preferably use thick garbage bags which were less likely to tear.
The bin centre servicing the food court being washed down.
“Alternatively, if they choose to go with those made from a thinner plastic then they should double-bag their waste.”
“They should secure the bags tightly before depositing them properly inside any of the bins at the nearest centre.
“The bags should not simply be dumped or piled up outside these receptacles.
He said their actions would facilitate the efforts of City Hall workers to remove this garbage swiftly and efficiently, without creating a mess.
The spokesman warned that operators caught haphazardly disposing of their kitchen waste risked being slapped with a compound for as much as RM500.
Such a penalty can be imposed under the agency’s Anti Litter 2005 or Hygiene and Conservancy 1984 By-laws, according to him.
A RM300 compound was served to an eatery-owner in the State Capital for soiling the parking lots near his/ her shop in April last year.
“Our inspectors found, at the time, that liquid waste from his/ her kitchen was being indiscriminately dumped onto the road at the back of the premises,” the spokesman said.
He said some 20 hawkers at the Anjung Selera area in the City were officially cautioned last week that they could be penalised likewise, after an overseas tourist spotted pools of leachate around the curve of the roundabout on Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, which was closest to the foodcourt.
LILY, who lives in Perth, Western Australia, said the stinking fluids appeared to be coming from the bin centre at this part of Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens.
“I noticed that the surface of the jogging track near the roundabout was soiled when I went for a walk at around 8.30am on Sunday,” she said.
She did not know how to avoid staining her jogging shoes as the designated cycle path and main road nearby were equally dirty.
In the end, Lily took a chance and walked in the middle of the road, when no vehicles were going past the roundabout, to avoid the leachate.
Pools of the foul smelling fluid had caused potholes to form in this section of the stretch, according to her.
She also observed that most of the blue paint on the cycle path there had worn away.
Lily said the damage made her wonder how long the leachate was likely to have been draining onto the road.
“It was such a ‘yucky’ experience for me and the other joggers, walkers and cyclists whom I met.
“It is such a lovely path for those wanting to stretch their legs and get some recreation.
“If the cleanliness is maintained as it should, more people might be encouraged to get some exercise here.”
The spokesman said City Hall’s street-cleaning team went to the bin centre near Anjung Senja shortly after it learned about what happened to the overseas visitor.
“Our personnel hosed down the area around the bins, as well as the jogging-cum-cycle path,” he said.
“Cleanliness notices were handed out to stall-operators at Anjung Senja on July 12.
“We will be keeping an eye on the condition of the bin centre to determine if the hawkers comply with our instructions.”
A spokesman for the agency’s Traffic and Transport Department confirmed the damage to the section of main road and cycle-path near the Wawasan Plaza roundabout.
“Our road-patching-gang will be asked to make some repairs to offer road-users some temporary relief,” he said.
“We are in the process of arranging to resurface this part of Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens and repaint the cycle path.”
