Impak pengurusan tapak pelupusan ke atas kualiti air sungai di Malaysia: Iktibar dari pengalaman tapak pelupusan Pajam dan Sungai Pajam, Negeri Sembilan (The impact of wa ste disposal management on the water quality of rivers in Malaysia: Lessons from Pajam waste disposal sites, Negeri Sembilan)

Abstract

Tapak pelupusan merupakan destinasi terakhir dalam riwayat hidup kepelbagaian sisa buangan. Pertambahan jumlah penduduk selari dengan perubahan gaya hidup, khususnya dalam ekosistem bandar menjadi penjanaan utama kepada peningkatan kuantiti sisa buangan dilupus di tapak pelupusan. Fenomena ini menimbulkan pelbagai masalah alam sekitar yang memberi impak negatif bukan sahaja kepada persekitaran fizikal, tetapi melibatkan persekitaran manusia. Disamping itu, penjanaan sisa berterusan dan kekangan tapak pelupusan yang terhad menjadi isu yang amat kronik bukan sahaja di Malaysia, malah dirasai juga oleh negara maju dan negara membangun yang lain. Bagi mengatasi isu yang semakin kronik ini, aspek pengurusan yang bersepadu dan sistematik perlu dilaksanakan. Bagi memahami dan sebagai garis panduan ke arah pengurusan tapak pelupusan yang lestari, kertas ini cuba membincang dan mengariskan beberapa langkah dan pendekatan pengurusan tapak pelupusan, khususnya impak operasi tapak ke atas kualiti air sungai. Selain daripada perbincangan tentang aspek pengurusan secara perundangan dan bukan perundangan, aspek kawalan dan teknikal di tapak pelupusan diambilkira dalam pengurusan tapak pelupusan.

Katakunci: indeks kualiti air, isu alam sekitar, pelupusan sisa buangan, kesedaran alam sekitar, kualiti air,pengurusan sisa buangan, tapak pelupusan

One chronic environmental issue in contemporary urban Malaysia is how to systematically and efficiently manage ever increasing generations of waste in a scenario of ever decreasing and restricting areas for disposal and dumping sites. This paper takes a close look at the impact of waste management at the Pajam waste disposal site on the water quality of the Pajam river in the Peninsular central state of Negeri Sembilan. It was found that due to ineffective waste management the water quality of the Pajam river had become polluted to the extent that the river was reduced to Class III depicting pollution scores of less than 60 percent and with parametres such as SS , COD and heavy metals exceeding standard limits of water contaminants. Several waste management methods were examined in terms of their abilities to overcome the problem of contaminated water seepage into the Pajam river from the existing waste disposal sites, namely, landfill, drainage, incineration, environmental laws that prohibit irresponsible dumping, recyling, and environmental awareness campaigns involving the active role of mass media, schools and institutions of higher learnings, and local environmentally concerned NGOs. The paper ends with an urgent note on the imperative of practising environmentally sensitive management of waste disposal in Malaysia.

Keywords: environmantal awareness, environmental issue, environmantal laws, waste disposal site, waste management, water quality index