Permission to republish this interview has been granted from Titis Nur Abadi, on April 2001 based on the paper "Kimia Lingkungan: Pencemaran Lingkungan - Pencemaran Tanah". Verbal permission.

Malaysia, a rapidly developing country in South East Asia is aiming to be an industrial center on its own in the region. This aim should be balanced with the preservation of the environment. Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd, a private waste management company servicing Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is committed in that matter. It's been operating since 21 December 1995, and has the following missions:

1. To create a healthy and clean environment
2. To give the best service to the society
3. To get maximum profits, and
4. To produce strengthened, knowledge-based and confident workers

An interview conducted by the students of Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur (Indonesian School of Kuala Lumpur) to Mr. Abdul Karim, the Head of Operational of Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd., shows some pictures of how the company works to manage our everyday wastes. Here they are:

What is the function of Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd.?
The actual function of this company is to do operations on waste pick ups in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding including residential and commercial areas as well as other areas.

How much waste you usually pick up each day?
It's around 1800 tons per day, 60% is picked up by the DBKL (municipal council) and the rest 40% is picked up by Alam Flora. We have 76 lorries and 5 rolls (Ro Ro). The big lorries can pick as maximum as 7 tons of waste in one trip while the smaller lorries can pick up 2 tons of waste in one trip. The others can pick about 5 tons of waste per trip.

When does the pick up operation start?
We operate from 7am till night. This operation is divided by locations according to the pick up schedule. For specific locations such as wet markets, we start operating in 10am because we have to wait until the activities in the market over... that will ease our works.

Where do the wastes go after we dispose it and how large is the area to contain them?
Like this, the wastes picked up by the Alam Flora will be transported to the landfill in Beringin, Rawang. Actually there there is another landfill not so far from that location, in Selayang, Selangor. However the landfill in Selayang is rapidly growing and make it to the full capacity, and has become overfilled. However, we nowadays use the Selayang landfill as a transit place for wastes that are going to be transported to Beringin. Both places are as large as 30 - 40 hectares.

How do the wastes processed?
The wastes will be processed by burying them underground in a specific depth, layer by layer, depending on the weight and category. Then, the layers will be stacked with a body of soil until the odors gone. We also spread a kind of chemical which is used to eliminate odors. This process is conducted a number of times, eventually making a waste hill. Plastic wastes are separated and buried in a special hole. Usually we can process wastes as much as 1600 - 1900 tons a day, which most of them consist of household and wet market wastes.

How about the classification system of wastes?
We have three to four workers specialized in classification job. If then we find something that can be reused, we'll sell them. However it's often before we do that job, other people have illegally pick wastes. They pick any items to be sold and do not obey the dangers of entering a landfill. Many accidents have happened, including hits by trucks and buried under wastes. This is one problem and it's known that 2000 illegal pickers have entered the landfill everyday. To overcome this problem our company has consulted the Government and police to prevent those pickers to pick any items from the landfill, even we have fenced in the landfill area. However the problem is still there.

What is the benefit of burying waste underground?
As I've explained earlier, this method can lessen bad odors and make the environment looks clean.

Why don't we use incinerators?
For that thing Malaysia still doesn't have the incineration facility. It's true that it's better to burn the wastes, because that doesn't claim large areas and do not spread bad smells. This method has been used widely in more advanced countries like Singapore and Hong Kong. Malaysia is still using traditional methods than other countries.

Can the land that's been a landfill be used for development?
Sure, the landfill can be used for development, after a long term. It also depends on the conditions of the soil. An example is the National Sports Complex, it was once a landfill, before moved to Selayang.

Can Alam Flora deal with hazardous toxics and medical wastes?
Actually Alam Flora works only to pick up non-toxic wastes. The one who deals with toxic is the Environment Authority, that operates in Bukit Nanas, Port Dickson (Negeri Sembilan, a state of Malaysia). If in case we picked up toxics or radioactive waste, we'll contact the Authority. Also, for information, in Melacca, there is a place to eliminate hazardous toxics and medical wastes. 

Along your business so far, what have become the problems in your activities?
A good question. Actually we experience lots of problems:

1. Less cooperations from the society
2. Vehicles parked irresponsibly make our works difficult to pick up waste.
3. Less education to the society
4. Less attention from the society to our workers
5. Many disposal bins throughout the city haven't been used properly
6. Less consciousness about cleanliness among the society
7. Wastes that are placed in bag are not tied up properly
8. Almost no suitable places to dispose wastes

What's the effort the company has been doing to anticipate the problems?
The efforts we have been doing are:

1. Cooperating with municipal council (DBKL). It's our role to help them.
2. Organizing seminars, meetings, and etc.
3. More commitment to pick up waste by scheduled time.