By Danial Dzulkifly
KUALA SELANGOR, Oct 17 — Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari has defended Selangor’s move to implement waste-to-energy (WTE) projects in the state, noting the evolving nature of sustainable waste management technology.
He said the technology has made significant strides in safety and has been used effectively in highly urbanised cities in China and Japan, amid rising environmental concerns regarding the projects here.
“We have consistently addressed this matter in the State Legislative Assembly but I recognise there are concerns.
“However, we have conducted official visits to WTE facilities abroad from 2008 to 2019. It's worth noting that even those who objected to these projects joined our overseas trips,’’ he said during a press conference at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jeram WTE facility, here, today.
Located at the Jeram Integrated Solid Waste Management Center (ISWMC), the initiative looks to process 3,000 tons of solid waste daily, generating about 50 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, and is expected to be completed by 2026.
The project is managed by Worldwide Holdings Bhd in partnership with Shanghai Electric.
Commenting further, Amirudin said there have been significant advancements in WTE technology, particularly on handling harmful emissions such as dioxins that result from waste incineration.
"This isn't the 80s or 90s. We have even witnessed just now how the WTE facilities operators plan to deal with the dioxin emission, which environmentalists have always cited as a cause of concern,” he said, referring to the demonstration of the facility's safe WTE conversion process at the site earlier.
“When you look at countries like Japan and China, the public's trust in this system is evident.”
Amirudin has previously spoken in defence of the state's move towards WTE projects.
At today's groundbreaking ceremony, a group of protesters had gathered outside the premises, voicing their opposition to WTE initiatives in Selangor
Notably, they expressed concerns over the proposed RM4.5 billion Sultan Idris Shah green energy plant project in Rawang.
