@Green January/February 2022 | Page 11

January-February , 2022 | @ green

COVER STORY

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companies could engage AFES to get a variety of services and achieve sustainability .
The first on-site port reception facilities in Malaysia
Touching on AFES ’ Marine and Land Scheduled Waste Business , Nazar said : “ Now , we have embarked on scheduled waste . Ships would park in a few ports in Malaysia , needing desludging .
“ Currently , we don ’ t have a proper solution for the desludging process . So , AFES became the first company in Malaysia to build the country ’ s first on-site port reception facilities ( PRF ).”
PRF is an integrated on-site facility , managing all types of waste at the port , including sea-going vessels generating waste categorised into three segments : scheduled waste , solid waste and sewerage .
With this facility , the waste at the port will go through pre-treatment processes before proceeding to ( Department of Environment ) DOE-licensed contractors for further recovery or final disposal at prescribed premises .
“ We already have one on-site facility in Northport . The next one will be in Johor Port , and we hope Port of Tanjung Pelepas ( PTP ) and Penang Port will follow suit . We hope to forefront in building and managing this facility .”
Educating companies and public Nazar said the sustainability awareness
among Malaysian companies had improved significantly compared to the last 10 years . Many companies had reached out to AFES to get more information and data about sustainability , and they also started their sustainability initiatives .
“ Most of our clients already talk about sustainability . We are happy to support them . Our purpose is bigger . Most of the companies will talk about profits . As for AFES , we talk about the triple bottom line ( TBL ) - profit , people and the planet .”
Nazar believed that education was essential to spread awareness on sustainability , and AFES strived to educate people about the topic . He shared that the company had done many programmes to promote the importance of sustainability and worked with the Ministry of Environment and Water ( KASA ) on its latest campaign , where they cleaned up the river .
Among other AFES ’ green programmes were Eco Duta , Waste Wise , 3R on Wheels and 3R Boutique .
“ We already built one complex in Putrajaya . We have an education centre , sorting centre and 3R Boutique there . At the boutique , we sell preloved clothes that we have cleaned up . We sell them at around RM2 , and the money goes to charity . This is also part of sustainability as the clothes do not end up in landfills .”
Malaysia still needs landfills
When asked about Malaysia ’ s dependence on landfills , Nazar said people
could proceed with other types of waste management , but Malaysia needed to have landfills for now . However , these landfills could be converted into sustainable landfills equipped with facilities to accommodate processes such as recycling and converting plastic to fuel , leachate treatment plants , education centres , etc .
“ The landfill normally has gas . We need to tap the gas and use it back for the industry . That ’ s why we need to have landfills , but we call them sustainable landfills ,” said Nazar , adding that these sustainable landfills might have longer lifespans compared to the conventional ones .
The federal government had also engaged AFES to assist Selangor with post-flood clean-up operations in December 2021 . Using its years of experience in handling post-flood situations , AFES managed to speed up the cleaning works .
“ Previously , when it was flooding in Manik Urai , Kelantan , we managed ( the post-flood clean-up efforts ). We also managed Pahang ’ s previous flood . For Selangor , we targeted 14 days to settle all assigned areas . But , Alhamdulillah , we have done it in 10 days .”
Nazar emphasised that planning was essential in post-flood clean-up operations . He shared AFES set up three operation rooms on-site during the Selangor flood to communicate better with the communities . — @ Green
Most of our clients already talk about sustainability . We are happy to support them . Our purpose is bigger . Most of the companies will talk about profits . As for AFES , we talk about the triple bottom line ( TBL ) - profit , people and the planet .”