KUCHING, May 30: Miri City Council (MCC) and ZHA Environmental Sdn Bhd (ZHA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a long-term collaboration to protect Miri’s environment from environmental hazards and pollution caused by used tyres and to prioritise the use of recycled rubber produced from used tyres.
According to a press release issued today, this collaboration is also in line with the Sarawak government’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS), whereby environmental sustainability has been identified as one of the three main pillars to enable Sarawak to achieve its aspiration to be a developed State by 2030.
“The indiscriminate dumping of used tyres has given rise to environmental hazards such as breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, tyre fires, and pollution in the drains and waterways.
“To safeguard the environment, the Sarawak government has gazetted the Natural Resources and Environment (Collection and Disposal of Used Tyres) Rules 2012 under the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance, 1993, to prohibit the indiscriminate dumping of used tyres and had implemented a holistic used tyre waste management programme to ensure that used tyres are collected and recycled,” the press release reads.
The press release went on to say that ZHA has been appointed and licensed by the Sarawak government to undertake the used tyre waste management programme throughout Sarawak since 2013.
“ZHA has been actively collecting the used tyres generated in Miri, and to date, approximately two million used tyres (passenger car tyre equivalent) have been collected.
“The collected used tyres are being recycled locally by ZHA to produce recycled rubber products such as Recycled Rubber Granules, Pre-Coated SBR, and Rubber Tiles which are widely used in playground floorings and artificial football turfs,” it said.
It added that MCC is also the pioneer in setting up the Local Agenda 21 Unit (now known as Sustainable Development Goal Unit) in the State to bring about sustainable development toward a better living environment and transform Miri into a Green City.
MCC has always prioritised the environmental sustainability and cleanliness of the city to ensure a conducive and safe living environment for the people of Miri. — DayakDaily
