New compactors every seven years. No more leachate spillage.
These are among the requirements that three solid waste management concessionaires must adhere to in view of the Solid Waste Managementand Public Cleansing Act which came into force on Sept 1 in Peninsular Malaysia.
Except Selangor, Penang and Perak, the other states will be divided into 231 schemes so that garbage collection and public area cleaning can be carried out effectively.
Also, for the first time, the concessionaires SWM Environment, Alam Flora Sdn Bhd and Environment Idaman Sdn Bhd are liable to fines of between RM50 and RM5,000 if there are legitimate complaints against them.
“The concessionaires will also be slapped with penalty points if there are legitimate complaints from the public,” said a source familiar with the privatisation exercise.
He said should a concessionaire commit 25 serious offences in a scheme within a year, or receive two warning letters within six months, then the particular scheme would be taken away and awarded to another party.
The concession agreement would also be considered null and void if a certain number of schemes were taken away from them.
A source said their performance would be monitored by the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation.
The services include the cleaning of public toilets, drains, recreational areas, markets, hawker centres, beaches and bus stations, besides grass cutting and removal of animal carcasses.
The schemes, the source said, were formed to ensure collection, movement and disposal of solid waste could be effectively monitored.
Workers would also be required to clear rubbish outside the bins as well as waste dumped illegally.
All three concessionaires had been dogged with problems since taking over the service between nine and 14 years ago from local councils.
Rates were not revised and payments were often late, which forced them to rely on garbage trucks which were up to 25 years old.
He said representatives from the state governments and the Housing and Local Government Ministry would ink an agreement with the concessionaires on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung said the companies would be paid RM800mil a year to upgrade their services.
The Government, he said, would pay the concessionaires an average of RM8 per household every month under a 22-year contract.
