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THE bin-centre for the Manggatal “tamu (weekly market)” has been given a face-lift while City Hall waits to have it redesigned.

A spokesman for the agency’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) said improvements were made to the building’s roof, walls and driveway.

“Our staff made a preliminary inspection of the bin-centre on Jalan Manggatal F a month before this effort,” he said.

“They noticed that some of the corrugated iron roofing sheets were either missing, while others had rusted through in places. 

“We suspect that the bin-centre may have been targeted by vandals as graffiti which had been spray-painted on the back wall of the bin-centre.”

He said these personnel also observed a crack running down one side of the wall. 

“Some of the beams for the building had also split across their width. On top of this, the surface of the driveway leading to the structure was also found to be uneven.”

A trouble-shooting exercise was subsequently carried out to address these irregularities, according to him. 

“A contractor returned to this part of the town last week to carry out the necessary rectification work. His workers removed the existing roof and had new metal roof tiles put in place. They also installed new metal reinforcments to the roof trust.”

On top of this, he said, the contractor’s team also resurfaced the driveway.

“Readymix was poured over the common area in front of the building, with the contractor’s team using spades to ensure that this material was evenly spread out.”

He said a fresh coat of paint was later applied to the walls of the building. 

“We are looking into the possibility of cementing over the cracks as a temporary measure until the structure can be rebuilt.” 

City Hall also intended to remove any communal bins at the bin-centre which were damaged. 

“They will be replaced when the next batch of new bins arrive in the coming months.”

The spokesman said the bin-centre for the ‘tamu’ was one of 26 similar amenities which were slated to be redesigned, including those at Lintas Plaza, Lintas Square and Alam Mesra commercial properties.

“These structures will be reconstructed at their present location according to a new design to make them more user-friendly,” he said. 

“The capacity of the bin-centres will be maintained but a drain will be put in place on the perimeter building to channel away any leachate which may escape from the rubbish.”

“Leachate” is the foul smelling liquid which drains from, or ‘leaches’ through, when the piles of bagged waste are compressed.

The spokesman said many of the public were afraid to go into the bin-centres due to the stench.

As a result, the bagged waste was not placed into the bins, according to him. 

“The garbage winds up being dumped outside the bin-centres making the area around these buildings look unsightly.”

He hoped the redesigned bin-centres would be “more approachable” to the public. 

“We intend to have them washed down daily. More bins will be housed at some of these facilities.”

The spokesman said the agency had received an allocation to have the bin-centres refurbished.

“We are waiting for our ‘Jabatan Perolehan (Acquisitions Department)’ to finalise the details before a tender can be called for the work.”