KUCHING: Trienekens Sdn Bhd currently serves a domestic population of more than 600,000 with an average daily collection of slightly over 500 metric tonnes of municipal waste in Kuching.

Trienekens has services within and outside Kuching District under Kuching North City Hall (DBKU), Kuching South City Hall (MBKS) and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP), as well as several areas under the Serian District Council (MDS), namely Siburan, Beratok and Tapah.

The municipal waste generation has increased over the years but not significantly or consistently.

It is due to the fact that many households have expanded to live in the outskirts of the city (outside of the council areas serviced by Trienekens).

In 2010, the average collection of municipal waste in Kuching City was approximately 450 metric tonnes a day. This increased over the years by about 20 metric tonnes a year before stabilising at an average of slightly over 500 metric tonnes per day in 2015.

Waste management plays an integral part of urban environmental planning and infrastructure development to ensure a safe and healthy environment for households while considering sustainable economic growth.

Trienekens’ services and treatment facilities for municipal, commercial and scheduled waste range from logistics planning, landfill engineering, compaction and layering to incineration of hazardous waste, interception of leachate wastewater and its treatment; control of methane release from waste decomposition and rehabilitation of closed landfills. All ecological impacts with respect to the pollution of soil, water and air are considered.

A core component of the Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) is the Kuching Integrated Waste Management Park (KIWMP), located some 27 km from Kuching City.

As the first Integrated Waste Management Park in South East Asia, the facility serves as the receiving end for collected waste.

The park sits on 112 hectares of ideal geographical and geological landscape and has four main components, namely a sanitary landfill (for municipal waste), a secure landfill (for hazardous waste), a leachate wastewater treatment plant, a scheduled waste incineration facility for thermal treatment and disposal of scheduled waste and a full-service laboratory.

Trienekens staff collecting and dispensing waste into a Trienekens garbage truck in a residential area.