SIBU, Feb 27: Enforcement officers from Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) are conducting daily checks on whether eateries are seriously implementing health safety measures in view of the outbreak of Covid-19.
Chairman for Public Health and Municipal Services Councillor Jenny Ting said food handlers were required to abide to the requirements as set in their business licenses.
This included wearing aprons and gloves at all times. Eatery outlets, she said must also not throw used cooking oil into the drain.
“They must ensure that their grease traps are in good working condition. There should be proper maintenance of the grease trap so that they will function properly,” she said.
She highlighted this as the council cleaning contractors used to complain of solidified grease trapped in the drains.
The operators must also place soap or detergents in the toilets for their customers to wash their hands. Councillor Ting said they must also provide hot water for customers to sanitise cutlery.
To the public, she told them to take personal hygiene as top priority.
Meanwhile on segregation of household waste, she regretted that the public was still either not practicing it or unaware that the council had been collecting recyclable materials from households.
“We want the people to do waste segregation from their home. We will hold talks to educate the public on how waste segregation should be done,”she said.
Ting added that the council had been collecting domestic recyclable waste on every first and 15th day of the month for many years now “but most people are still not aware of this.”
The council did this by having recyclable waste collection centres at several housing estates.
Last year the council collected a total of 9,000 kg of recyclable waste which amounted to RM2,400. Proceeds from the sale of recyclable waste were later donated to Sibu Kidney Foundation.
She also lamented that the public had been dumping whatever things to its bulk roller bins which were placed in the market, Kampung Bahagia Jaya, and Jalan Teku Community hall.
“We collected 74,330 kg of recyclable items from roller bins last year which is 50 per cent less than previous year. The drawback of this roller bins is that people are not segregating the waste. They simply dump whatever into the bins such as unwanted furniture, electrical, and building wastes,” she said, adding that such practice must be stopped. —DayakDaily
