KUALA LUMPUR: Alam Flora collects 511 tonnes of solid waste every day during the month of Ramadan, says its chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Zain Hassan.
He said the total increased compared to the collection in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya last year.
Zain said however the volume of waste in Pahang fell drastically by more than 10,000 tonnes for the same period and the fall was attributed to greater awareness on food wastage by the people.
He said the overall waste collection in the three concession areas was 57.625 tonnes which was a decrease of 9,615 tonnes on the 25th day of Ramadan compared to last year.
“Nonetheless, our observations found unfinished or unsold food at Ramadan bazaars were the main contributors of higher waste volume apart from packaging materials such as plastic bags and polystyrene boxes.
“Food wastage during Ramadan resulted in additional waste amounting to as much as 500 tonnes was disposed of at the landfill in a day compared to 2,500 tonnes on a normal day in Kuala Lumpur which has a high density of population,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, more than 3,000 Alam Flora staff will continue to carry out rubbish collection and public cleaning as usual during Hari Raya Aidilfitri this week.
“Alam Flora operation during the festive season go on as usual and we have made the arrangements as rubbish collection is expected to increase in areas with high population,” he said.