Johor rejects proposals from Chinese companies to be set up waste recycling centres

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): The Johor government recently rejected deals from Chinese firms to build waste recycling centres there

"Earlier in June, I had informed that the State government had rejected investments from three companies from China and last week I had rejected two more investments from the same country.

"The same move has been taken by the Kedah and Selangor governments, and hope investors in this industry hear my message that the Johor government will not allow the State become a waste disposal centre," State International Trade, Investment and Utilities Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse told the media after a trade event here yesterday, reported Bernama.

Puah said the Johor administration did not wish to see the State end up as a waste disposal centre for other countries, and would therefore “never accept such investments”, reported Bernama.

In a recent report, Putrajaya reiterated that the country will never become the world’s solid waste dump.

The government has introduced new sets of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and regulations for the application of solid waste import licenses and revoked the 114 existing licenses with immediate effect, said Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin earlier in the week.

She said the licenses were issued by the National Solid Waste Management Department under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

"The licence holders need to re-apply the licence and meet the new SOP and criteria to ensure that there will be no violation of standards and regulations."