Green plans for landfill

GEORGE TOWN: The state government has made plans to turn the Jelutong landfill into parks and a site for mixed development projects.

State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the plans would be carried out through a proposed landfill mining and reclamation (LFMR) process.

He said the LFMR process is a proposed recovery and reutilisation project for the landfill.

“The state government has decided to give the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) the responsibility to carry out the project.

“In a meeting last week chaired by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, the state government asked PDC to appoint a consultant to set the specifications and criteria for the LFMR process within three months.

“After the specifications and criteria have been set, PDC will call for an open tender or Request for Proposal to invite local and international experts with experience in LFMR to submit their proposal to make the Jelutong landfill reusable for better land-use again.

“We will leave it to the experts to use their expertise to turn it into parks and a site for mixed development projects.

“We will also leave it to them to come up with their own operations on how to recover and reuse the waste materials and to treat and rehabilitate the landfill.

Estimating that the site recovery would take about five to 10 years, Chow said the move would also help to solve some of the existing problems concerning the landfill such as the removal of the potential peat fire threats as well as reducing the production of methane and carbon footprint.

“The possibility of toxic contamination of underground water sources can also be reduced. In addition, LFMR would also increase the land value of the Jelutong site and the social grievances of neighbouring residents will be resolved.

“For the state, this is another one of our green projects to improve the environment for the future generation,” he said. - The Star