PUTRAJAYA: The Local Government Development Ministry, in collaboration with the Malaysian Space Agency (Mysa), has been applying remote sensing (satellite) technology to accurately track the location of illegal waste disposal sites throughout the country.

Its minister Nga Kor Ming said thus far, 86 illegal waste disposal sites had been successfully closed.

He expected the target of closing 100 illegal dumping sites within his first 100 days at the ministry could be achieved in the near future.

“The issue of solid waste management should be examined in detail and resolved immediately.

“Failure to deal with this issue can have a negative impact on cleanliness in the local area, affecting the quality of health and the sustainability of the environment,” he said.

Nga said his ministry also urged state governments and local authorities to work with the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleaning Corporation (SWCorp) to strengthen monitoring and enforcement aspects, to ensure that there were no land encroachment activities for the purpose of illegal waste disposal.

In addition, he said that as an initial step, the ministry had set up a task force to examine in detail all issues related to solid waste management, so that they could be resolved immediately in a holistic manner, Bernama reported.

He added that he chaired the first task force meeting on Tuesday, which was attended by various departments and agencies, including the Environment Department, Mysa and SWCorp.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/02/02/illegal-waste-sites-being-tracked-from-space