Speech by the Hon. Mr. Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang at the UN Environment Climate and Clean Air Coalition Workshop, Cititel, Penang, 27 October 2016
Good morning! On behalf of the Penang State Government, let me welcome both foreign and local participants to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Workshop co-organised by us and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/ International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC).
I understand that the involvement of Penang with the CCAC and UNEP-IETC started since 2013 and we are honoured to host this very important workshop under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Municipal Solid Waste Initiative. We are committed to turning Penang into the first green state in Malaysia.
Penang State (Penang Island City Council) and Seberang Perai Municipal Council) was nominated as one of the participating Asian cities for the Initiative on “Mitigating Short-lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) from the Municipal Solid Waste Sector” (MSW Initiative) under the CCAC to reduce SLCPs by UNEP-IETC.
UNEP-IETC has proposed that Penang develop itself as a Centre of Excellence (COE) for showcasing best practices on environmental issues. You have visited some of our Best Practices sites during the past 2 days of field training and we appreciate your inputs.
Penang fully subscribes to the United Nations’ Earth Summit Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, focusing on sustainable development. More recently, in 2012 YB Phee Boon Poh has been appointed as a as Director of IETC under UNEP.
Currently, CCAC is also providing technical assistance in conducting a Feasibility Study for Material Recovery Facility (MRF) & Bio-Digester at the Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill, Penang, and also a
Pilot Project for Upscaling of Food Waste Diversion from the Landfill in George Town, Penang which is aimed at developing an upstream organic waste diversion system targeting food waste separation from roadside hawker stalls, restaurants, hotels in the UNESCO World Heritage City of George Town on selected main streets.
Municipal Solid Waste Management is a very important issue for many countries because it affects the environment and health of the people. For example; the recent emergence of the Zika outbreak and dengue makes cleaning and solid waste management more important. In order to tackle diseases spread by mosquito we need to reduce the indiscriminate dumping of rubbish into drains, clear up rivers and waterways.
In Penang, we have taken steps such as implementing the “No free plastic bags” ruling for all supermarkets and departmental stalls. We are the only state in Malaysia with this No Free Plastic Bag programme.
I would like to stress that we are not imposing a total ban on plastic bags. Those who want plastic bags can still purchase them for 20 cents. Proceeds collected will be donated to the State's Partners against Poverty Fund. Thus far, we have collected RM5,445,889.84 for the fund from Year 2009 until September of Year 2016. You can save 20 cents by bringing your own shopping bags.
Penang has also completely banned the use of styrofoam containers as food packaging in the whole State. We found that this has been helpful to reduce the breeding of mosquitoes in many areas.
We are encouraging separation of waste at source the public awareness campaigns of the 3Rs, Environment Resources Centres and Friendly Neighborhoods have been set up for education towards the development of Zero Waste Communities. You have already visited 2 out of 7 of them during your field visit.
Our recycling rate for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) achieved the highest recycling rate in the country of 35% compared with 18% when we first started in 2005. This 35% recycling rate achieved far exceeds the the current national recycling rate of 10.5% and the 2020 target of 22% recycling rate. We also aim to reduce our Waste Generation from 1.3 kg/capita/day to half this amount by 2020.
In order to deal with food and kitchen waste at source which are frequently being discarded into drains and back lanes, we convert food waste using the Bio-regen machine into bio-liquid soil enhancers. This immediately eliminates indiscriminate dumping of food at the point of origin.
Bio-regen food waste machines have been installed in many places in Penang after the first machine at a Hawker Centre managed by the Penang Municipal Council 2 years ago.
We have found this to be very effective. We are proud to say that the food waste machine is manufactured in Penang itself and distributed globally. We are also collecting waste from wet markets in bulk and processing them centrally to turn them into compost.
The State plans to increase its effort to process the organic waste, through composting or turning organic waste into useable by-products in phases to divert this waste away from the Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill. This would save the local authorities the cost of collection, transfer and transportation and treatment in the long term.
We have started the Green School and Green Citizen Educational Programmes for long term awareness towards saving the Environment and Global Warming Climate Change.
To further curb air pollution that has a negative health impact of the people, we ensures that second-hand smoke is not passed on to those that do not smoke. Our UNESCO World Heritage City of George Town is “Smoke Free”! Smoke Free Penang aka PENBAR, but there are special smoking areas available.
We also welcome you to collaborate and help us develop Penang COE (Center of Excellence) as a showcase of Best Practices on environmental issues for the region and a place to learn about Municipal Solid Waste management. This will help transform Penang into an international and intelligent city that is clean, green, safe and healthy.
THANK YOU
