KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Business premises which produce scheduled waste are required to register in the Electronic Schedule Waste Information System (eSWIS), to enable the Department of Environment (DOE) to track the process of disposing of the waste.
Kuala Lumpur DOE deputy director Datuk Mohammad Ezanni Mat Salleh said premises owners who fail to do so can be issued with a RM2,000 compound, and risk being prosecuted under Section 34B of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 if they continue not to comply with the regulations.
Under the relevant section, offenders can be fined not exceeding RM500,000, or imprisoned for a period not exceeding five years, upon conviction.
He said that eSWIS was developed by DOE in 2015 to be fully used by any party that produces scheduled waste, known as waste producers.
“The use of eSWIS by waste producers is subject to Regulation 12, Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005, and becomes an offence if waste producers do not register, make notifications, update inventory and consignment notes using the eSWIS system.
“DOE enforcement officers will also constantly monitor eSWIS records and accounts of waste producers, and carry out detailed checks on the movement of scheduled waste, starting from the manufacturing stage until it is disposed of in licensed premises, to combat activities that lead to illegal disposal,” Mohammad Ezanni said.
He was speaking at the officiation of the Environmental Quality Act Compliance Seminar Series 2: Scheduled Waste — Be Alert and Comply, which was held in conjunction with National Environment Day 2022 at MRANTI Park in Bukit Jalil, earlier today.
Mohammad Ezanni added that, based on the Environmental Quality Report, a total of 7,505,196.76 metric tonnes of scheduled waste was produced by waste producers nationwide in 2021, an increase of 4.45 per cent compared with 2020.
Meanwhile, for the illegal disposal of scheduled waste, a total of six cases were recorded nationwide from January 1 to July 30 this year.
“For the Kuala Lumpur area, thus far, there has been no case of illegal disposal of scheduled waste because waste producers' compliance with eSWIS is high, with as many as 1,500 premises already registered, involving vehicle workshops, hotels, clinics and factories,” he said.
— Bernama
