Old furniture, mattress, domestic rubbish and a used linoleum mat were strewn by the roadside of Jalan Am 2, from near the Housing Project for the Hardcore Poor (PPRT) Air Kuning to SMK Pengkalan Aur in Taiping, Perak.
Residents said the illegal dumping caused air pollution as they sometimes noticed the rubbish being burnt and left unattended.
They feared the burning garbage would damage vehicles passing by.
A frustrated parent, Rohani Jusoh, 48, said heaps of domestic rubbish and used furniture, as well as old household appliances, were thrown in the area.
Rohani said if the fire was left unattended, it could spread to a grassy area. “The smell is worse when it rains and it is dangerous as the road can fit only one vehicle.
“I use the route to send and fetch my Form Three daughter from school. I hope that the authorities will clear the waste soon,” she said, adding that the site had been used as an illegal dumping site since eight years ago.
Actionline visited the area and found that parts of the rubbish were on fire, but there was no one around.
When we returned the next day, we saw that a sofa and mattress had been added to the rubbish pile.
ACTIONLINE:
Kampung Pengkalan Aur village head Mustapa Che Ros said the residents committee would rent a back hoe to remove the garbage off the road, while waiting for the Taiping District Council (MPT) to dispatch its garbage trucks and transport the rubbish to a landfill.
MPT said it would arrange for the trucks and workers to clear the rubbish, but added that the area was not under its jurisdiction.
“We suggest that the committee contact us to arrange for a gotong-royong,” said a council spokesman.
“We have to change the residents’ mindset and educate them to throw the rubbish only in designated areas.”