DBKK hopes to do away with bin centres
Published on: Thursday, May 16, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
Rate-payers bring their rubbish over to City Hall’s compactor as part of the Personal Waste Disposal System in the Kg Air area.
CITY HALL is hoping to do away with the need for its bin centres in the central business district (CBD) by next year, with the agency extending its “sistem pelupusan sampah sendiri” (personal waste disposal system) to this part of the State Capital.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) said the system had been in operation in the Kg Air area for the past five years already and at the Anjung Senja food court since 2022.
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“Our compactor parks at a designated spot once in the morning and again at night, as part of the system,” he said.
“Those in the vicinity bring over the garbage from their respective premises, during these times, to throw in the back of the vehicle.”
SWMD staff emptying a bin near the Horizon hotel roundabout during the Kota Kinabalu Food Nightmarket.
He said collections sites had been demarcated on the surface of the road at three strategic locations around Kg Air to indicate where the compactor came to a halt.
“Our four bin centres in Kg Air, as well as the one servicing the food court, were closed shortly after we began implementing the personal waste disposal system.”
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The spokesman said the agency had noticed a marked improvement in the surroundings at both locations over the intervening period.
“There has been a significant drop in the number of rats running around Kg Air and Anjung Senja.
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“Without the bags of kitchen waste piled up in these centres, or the bits of food strewn haphazardly around these structures, these rodents have essentially been deprived of a major food source.”
He said the absence of the rotting refuse had also minimised the nuisance posed by leachate – the foul smelling liquid which drains from, or “leaches” through, the piles of bagged rubbish.
On top of this, he said, acts of vandalism involving the fixtures at the bin-centres in Kg Air and Anjung Senja had also decreased.
The mischief-makers had previously taken to burning the communal bins or making away with their wheels, according to him.
“We intend to gradually phase out the other bin centres in the CBD, which fall under City Hall’s jurisdiction, by 2025.”
There were a total of 306 bin-centres all over the City, according to him, with 119 of these belonging to the authority.
“Rather than letting these amenities lay idle and become an eyesore, should they fall into a state of disrepair, we intend to repurpose them for our street-cleaners.
“They will be turned into operation centres for those of our staff who are responsible for keeping the common areas neat and tidy.”
The spokesman said the SWMD was gearing up to implement the personal waste disposal system in the Bandaran Berjaya area, where an eatery was recently closed after rat droppings were spotted inside the premises.
“We are arranging another engagement with the shopkeepers and tenants, this month, to give them a better understanding of how the system will work.”
He said City Hall had three bin centres which serviced its rate-payers at the shophouses in this part of the State Capital.
“The one, near the hillside, was closed earlier this year as we noticed that it was being underutilised. This probably happened because it was located in a remote area.
“Our staff also found that the bins were being targeted by vandals.”
City Hall maintains that there are enough bins to cater for the throngs who clock to the Food Nightmarket.
He said the agency aimed to shutter the remaining bin centres at some stage later this year.
Meanwhile, the SWMD will step up efforts to clean up the rubbish generated by the crowds who turned up for the Kota Kinabalu Food Night Market on Friday and Saturday.
The spokesman said a total of 15 City Hall personnel, split into two teams, was responsible for dealing with the litter on both nights.
“One group empties the bins and picks up the rubbish left behind between the fountain on Jalan Gaya and Lintasan Deasoka between 6pm-12am on Fridays, while the other does this on Saturday.”
When asked if there were sufficient bins to cater for the throngs who came to the Night Market, he said there were eight such receptacles set up around Lintasan Desoka and in front of City Hall’s headquarters.
“Each of these bins can contain as much as 40kg of garbage.
“If more are required, especially on Jalan Jati where many of the public like to gather, then we will consider having some receptacles temporarily placed there,” he said.
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