By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Nov 5: Sarawak plans to build two large-scale waste-to-energy incinerators, one in Kuching and another in northern Sarawak, as part of its efforts to turn waste into electricity and eventually reduce reliance on conventional landfills.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni said the Sarawak government had completed the policy and roadmap for the proposed industry, with implementation expected to begin next year.
“We have the plan, the roadmap and so on. We will start next year. It takes about three years to develop and construct the incinerators,” he told reporters during a doorstep interview after the Bicara Ilmu “Ekonomi Hijau: Strategi Baharu Memperkasa Ekonomi Koperasi Sarawak” programme at Imperial Hotel here today.
He said the initial phase would focus on municipal waste, with the system’s capacity to be expanded gradually over the following years.
“Probably, we will start with municipal waste first in the first few years, then upgrade gradually,” he said.
Asked about the cost, he said this had yet to be determined as the project would be undertaken through a joint venture between the Sarawak government, one of its agencies and the private sector.
Describing the scale of the proposed facilities, he said they would be comparable to Singapore’s Tuas Incineration Plant.
He indicated that existing landfill sites could be considered for the facilities, adding that the existing incinerator at Mambong would be expanded.
Once fully developed, the entire waste-to-energy system could generate up to 1,300 megawatts (MW) of electricity, equivalent to about half the capacity of the Bakun Hydroelectric Plant, he said.
The system would also incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automatically sort waste into organic and inorganic materials, reducing the need for manual sorting and household waste segregation.
“They just put the waste there, AI will separate it into organic, inorganic. Then it will be processed accordingly. It’s by AI,” he said.
Dr Hazland further said the technology could overcome the difficulty of getting people to consistently segregate household waste, noting that countries such as Japan, South Korea, China and Sweden had also faced challenges in changing public habits.
Asked whether the initiative would eventually resolve Sarawak’s landfill problem, he said waste currently accumulated at existing landfill sites could also be processed under the proposed system.
“Yes, that is the real solution. There will be no more landfills,” he said.
He added that the State was also conducting a pilot study to explore the recovery of methane gas from existing landfills, potentially turning landfill emissions into another source of revenue.
He estimated that the overall waste-to-energy system could generate about RM2 billion in annual revenue for Sarawak, based on its projected electricity generation capacity.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Hazland outlined the four major sources of biomass that could be harnessed for energy production.
These comprise solid waste from the oil palm industry, particularly palm oil pomace, the timber industry, agricultural activities, as well as municipal waste generated by households and commercial premises.
He said Sarawak generated approximately 2,000 tonnes of municipal waste daily, with Kuching alone accounting for about 700 tonnes.
Explaining the waste-to-energy process, Hazland said rubbish would be fed into an incinerator and burned to produce steam, which would then drive turbines to generate electricity.
He also highlighted potential business opportunities for cooperatives in supporting the industry, particularly through logistics and waste transportation services.
The two main incinerators would be supported by smaller satellite collection centres across Sarawak, making transportation an important part of the proposed waste-to-energy supply chain. — DayakDaily
