Sungai Klang now cleaner, with over 75,000 tonnes of garbage cleared since 2016

SHAH ALAM, Nov 24  -- Sungai Klang, which used to be frequently labelled as one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, has undergone a drastic facelift and is now seen to be cleaner.

Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin said this was after more than 75,000 tonnes of garbage had been cleared from the river from 2016 to September this year through the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project, which is a mega initiative to conserve about 56 kilometres of the area at the river.

He said that of the total, about 50 per cent comprised organic garbage, such as vegetations, grass and tree branches while the rest were non-organic, among them plastics, tins and textiles.

According to him, plastics contributed 80 per cent of the non-organic garbage, while the remainder were food and drink packages, aluminium, tins, rubber products, textiles and so one.

"The time has come for our name to be omitted from the list (of being among the dirtiest rivers in the world) because most of the floating garbage had already been cleared and you can ride a boat from Pangkalan Batu to Port Klang without having to stop every 500 metres. This river has become cleaner and everyone can see that,” he said in a statement today.

"With various additional measures to trap garbage before they enter into Sungai Klang in place, including the strategic placing of seven log booms as well as two Interceptors by The Ocean Cleanup, we aim to clear 900 tonnes of rubbish by the end of 2022,” he said.

Syaiful Azmen said they had also identified 38 potential locations at the downstream of Sungai Klang for the installation or upgrading of garbage traps and filters or mini log booms in tributaries, monsoon drains and water locks so as to curb the flow of floating garbage.

Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Selangor government through the Selangor Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) that has been mandated to spearhead the SMG project, which is an effort to clean, conserve and develop Sungai Klang and its surrounding areas in a sustainable manner.

-- BERNAMA