Photos by Samuel Gopal.
FOR EVERY THRIVING place, there is always an underbelly where waste and other discards are accumulated. Unfortunately, much like the majority of such places in the world, Penang’s own slumbering, reeking landfill may be reaching its maximum capacity in 2035, or even sooner, in 2028.
Meet Pulau Burung; and though its name characterises it as an island, it is no island but a location within the Nibong Tebal district, about 60km from Penang’s administrative capital of George Town across the 11km strait. Each day, the inhabitants of Penang, both in Seberang Perai and Penang Island, generate over 2,200 tonnes of waste, of which 80% is channelled via barges to the Pulau Burung sanitary landfill.
It is a coastal site within the Jawi state constituency, whose representative is state executive councillor, H’ng Mooi Lye, who oversees local government matters as well as town planning. This is also the first time that a major landfill—the primary one in Penang—comes under the immediate jurisdiction of a state exco member who happens to have oversight over local government, which includes waste management.
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