Landfills At Breaking Point Are Wte Plants A Solution Or Threat

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SPECIAL REPORT | Imagine stepping out of your house one morning and spotting a towering waste incinerator facility in your backyard. Most people would immediately reject the idea.
But here’s the hard truth: Malaysia is drowning in waste. Those plastic containers from your takeout? The mountain of delivery boxes from your online shopping? The old furniture abandoned on street corners? They all end up in a landfill.
The government’s solution is to build 18 waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants across Peninsular Malaysia.
The Housing and Local Government Ministry has billed them as safe, zero-waste, and toxic-free. But is that really the case?
In 2023, Selayang MP William Leong revealed that two out of 18 WTE incinerators will be built within 15km of Rawang, Selangor.
One, initiated by the Housing and Local Government Ministry, was originally planned to be built in Taman Perindustrian, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur but the plan was shifted to Rawang.
The other, the Sultan Idris Shah (SIS) WTE Green Energy Plant, will be located in Batu Arang and overseen by the Selangor government.
Batu Arang was once an industrial powerhouse and an integral part of Malaya’s economic lifeline, but experienced decline after diesel replaced coal.
Today, this small town is once again the centre of public attention due to the planned WTE incinerator.
Residents protest against the WTE incinerator planned for Batu ArangIn January last year, some 300 residents held a protest to voice their opposition to the plan.
They said beyond heritage preservation, the project poses potential health risks to nearby residents.
They also urged the government to reconsider the location, emphasising that the unique geological composition of Bukit Arang demands special consideration in any development plans.
Underground fires that rise to the surface
Incidents in Batu Arang some decades ago have coloured the residents’ views.
In the early 1990s, said former school principal Tan Lay Hua, the local primary school SJKC Chap Kuan had to be evacuated when mysterious heat and toxic fumes permeated the school.
Investigations found underground coal fires, underscoring the residents’ current fears of an incinerator built in Batu Arang.
Newspaper clippings of an underground fire at local primary school SJKC Chap Kuan in the 1990sADS
Tan said the school contacted the fire department, which started investigating the source of the heat and fumes, with the assistance of geologists.
“Later, we brought in an excavator to remove the coal dust and carbon crust, because this area was a slope formed by coal deposits from previous mining operations.“As we dug deeper, suddenly flames burst upward, frightening the excavator operator who wanted to flee.
“Fortunately, the fire extinguished itself after erupting, but it nearly burned the entire machine.”
Tan Lay Hua, a resident, was the principal of SJKC Chap Kuan, when an underground fire surfaced on school groundsTan said since they couldn’t locate the source of the underground fire, firefighters had no choice but to continuously pump water into the hole, taking a month to finally extinguish the hidden flames.
The incident at SJKC Chap Khuan wasn’t an isolated case.
A spontaneous fire in the backyard
In 2011, Karl Ngo’s ancestral home in Batu Arang was similarly threatened by underground coal fires.
He said an underground fire that spread to his backyard and kitchen was triggered by the open burning of trash some 20m from his home.
“After inspection, firefighters suggested we relocate, but I told them, ‘We have nowhere else to go, can you please do something?’
Karl Ngo showing photographs of when an underground fire erupted in his backyard, engulfing part of his home in 2011Ngo still keeps photographs of firefighters excavating underground coal and pumping water to cool the area.
“The firefighters dug out all the bricks, soil, and coal, continuously pumping water to cool it down. It took seven days to eliminate the hazard.”
Underground fire isn’t the only issue which has plagued Batu Arang.
Land subsidence
Batu Arang resident Ravy Shanker said he has witnessed a series of land subsidence incidents in the area, adding to the residents’ fear that the area is unsuitable for large constructions like an incinerator project.
In one incident, he said a sinkhole appeared when a cement factory began extracting groundwater extensively for industrial use, disrupting the fragile network of old underground mining tunnels.
A comic by cartoonist Lat for New Straits Times on land subsidence issues plaguing Batu Arang in the early 1990sAccording to a newspaper report in 1991, the land subsidence issue only ceased after the factory stopped extracting groundwater.
But the situation was so serious that it prompted the state government to propose relocating the entire town.
This was not an option for the residents of Batu Arang. For them, the town isn’t just a piece of land - it’s their home.
Resident Ravy Shanker at a protest against the WTE incinerator planned near Batu Arang‘Risks may not be as severe’
Memories of these incidents linger among the population, fueling fears of risks posed by plans to construct a WTE incinerator in the same geologically sensitive area.
Many residents question why the government would choose to place such an expensive facility on unstable ground.
However, two geologists consulted for this article indicated that the risks might not be as severe as residents believe.
Geologist Ng Chak Ngoon believes the WTE incinerator project won’t cause land subsidence as it won’t interfere with the groundwater systemEngineering geologist Ng Chak Ngoon explained that groundwater filling mining tunnels actually plays a crucial role in supporting the surface.
As long as the WTE incinerator project doesn’t interfere with the groundwater system, it won’t pose a threat, he said.
“The sinkhole will only reappear if you have water being drawn down from a pond and lowering the underground water in the surrounding area.
“If they don’t do anything like that, I don’t see how this project’s construction would cause subsidence,” he added.
UKM geologist Goh Thian Lai believes underground fires are unlikely to be triggered by the WTE incineratorUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia geologist Goh Thian Lai shared a similar view.
He pointed out that abandoned underground tunnels rely on groundwater support, and when water levels drop, the tunnel roof risks collapse.
Regarding concerns about the WTE incinerator causing underground fires, Goh said this is unlikely to happen because, unlike open burning, the combustion process is strictly controlled within the facility, so it won’t ignite underground coal seams.
Nevertheless, both geologists emphasised that it is too early to determine whether Batu Arang is suitable for a waste incinerator facility.
They said any conclusion can only be drawn after authorities conduct thorough geological surveys and submit a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA), which is still pending.
What is WTE?
There are various types of WTE plants but the common thread is that they process waste and generate energy.
One type uses anaerobic digestion - processing biodegradable waste like food waste and converting the methane gas produced into energy.
However, the WTE plant proposed in Batu Arang will use heat to burn the waste, and in turn, use the heat to generate energy.
Waste management expert Theng Lee Chong said fundamentally, a WTE incinerator is the same as a traditional incinerator. The only distinction is that the former uses the heat it produces to generate energy.
The idea to use WTE plants to phase out landfills nationwide first made it into government policy in 2019, during the tenure of then-housing and local government minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.
Current minister Nga Kor Ming said the use of such WTE technologies aligns with principles of sustainable solid waste management.
In the Bukit Tagar sanitary landfill in Selangor, thick plastic is used to cover up mountains of trash, capturing the gas it produces when it biodegrades. This captured gas is then converted into electricity while preventing greenhouse emissions from being released into the atmosphere.
But the gases are only produced when waste biodegrades, leaving plastics and other non-degradable trash in the landfill.
The Bukit Tagar sanitary landfill uses a WTE technology by capturing the methane released during waste decomposition, and converting that into electricityIn developing countries, where solid waste is often unsorted, incineration-based WTE facilities are particularly popular because they can process all types of waste.
In Malaysia, one operational WTE incinerator is located in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, while another is under construction at the Jeram landfill in Selangor.
RM4.5b investment
WTE incinerators are not cheap. The SIS WTE incinerator in Batu Arang is a major project requiring an investment of RM4.5 billion.
It is jointly overseen by the Selangor government subsidiary, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB), and YTL Power, and will be located on Lot 3847 beside a lake where a mine once stood in Batu Arang.
A slide from KDEB’s presentation to residents during a dialogueAccording to the proposal, the facility will be capable of processing up to 2,400 tonnes of waste daily from six Selangor municipalities, including Petaling Jaya, Ampang Jaya, and Shah Alam.
That may seem like a huge amount, but it is just about a quarter of the 10,000 tonnes of trash generated in Selangor every day.
By KDEB’s assessment, the facility’s waste combustion process will generate 58 megawatts of power, enough to meet the monthly electricity needs of approximately 20,000 households.
However, experts have noted that the majority of the power generated by WTE facilities is often consumed to sustain the facility’s own operations.
Extending the lifespan of landfills
There is another upside of WTE incineration - a WTE incinerator can reduce garbage to just 10 percent of its original size.
In a world where urban space is at a premium, it’s not just about generating power - it’s about extending the lifespan of our landfills, said KDEB.
KDEB managing director Ramli Mohd Tahir says WTE incineration is needed because it can reduce the volume of the waste by one-tenthKDEB managing director Ramli Mohd Tahir said traditional landfills typically have a lifespan of seven to 10 years, but through incineration, waste volume can be reduced to just one-tenth of its original size.
“This means the lifespan of landfills can be extended to 63 years or even over a century.
“It is good for the state in particular because less land will be ‘victimised’ as a landfill.”
Is burning trash for energy truly safe?
But burning trash is not as simple as lighting a fire and watching all our problems vanish.
They produce air pollution, noise pollution, and health impacts, which are pressing concerns that keep residents and NGOs awake at night.
“Our biggest worry is the emission of toxic gases like dioxins,” resident Ngo said with deep concern.
“Dioxins can cause cancer and also miscarriages.”
Part of resident Karl Ngo’s home in Batu Arang was engulfed by an underground fire which broke the surfaceMageswari Sangaralingam, honorary secretary of Sahabat Alam Malaysia, believes even with the most advanced purification and monitoring technology, WTE incinerators will not be completely harmless.
“We can’t claim it’s ‘zero emission’ - there’s air pollution from the gases. And what about the ash? How will the authorities handle this ash disposal?”
Carcinogenic concerns
These concerns aren’t just hypothetical.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), while modern WTE technologies can control dioxin and furan emissions, two carcinogenic byproducts of incomplete combustion, many developing countries lack strict emission standards and enforcement.
Even some developed countries have exceeded safety limits due to poor operation and maintenance.
Malaysia’s experience with incinerators serves as a warning.
The Langkawi incinerator operations were suspended after major damage and will resume in June 2025The country has four small incinerators located in Cameron Highlands, Pulau Pangkor, Pulau Tioman, and Langkawi, but most of these have been out of commission for years, the Auditor General’s report states.
The incinerator in Pulau Tioman failed to meet government emission standards, with repairs scheduled until 2022, while Langkawi’s operations are suspended until June 2025.
MPs and state governments have also questioned the effectiveness of these facilities.
The Pahang state government declared the incinerator projects in Tioman and Cameron Highlands as failures and refused to allocate further funds to restart them.
‘Improved over time’
Waste management expert Theng Lee Chong acknowledged these failures but maintained that modern WTE incinerators are different from these earlier, unsuccessful projects.
He said incineration technology has over a century of history in waste management and has been continuously innovating and improving.
“Modern incinerators can now be equipped with 24-hour monitoring facilities that continuously track emissions, including concentration levels and types of gases. All these aspects can be regulated,” he said.
Waste management expert Theng Lee Chong says incinerator technology is improving, allowing for emissions to be better regulatedMinister Nga has also repeatedly stressed that any WTE technology rolled out in Malaysia must have at least a 10-year international track record before it can be approved to be used here.
“We’re letting other countries use (WTE) first - they’ve been using it since the 1980s.
“If it’s not safe, no way, we won’t approve it,” he told reporters last August.
Pauline Puah at a protest with Rawang Tolak Insinerator Network (RTI)But Pauline Puah, a member of Rawang Tolak Insinerator Network (RTI) said the language used by KDEB, the Selangor government, and state executive councillors when engaging with residents is a harbinger of bad things to come.
“(They told residents:) ‘For the larger majority, you need to make some sacrifices!’
“When you use the word ‘sacrifice’, it acknowledges that this project carries risks. Otherwise, why would we need to sacrifice anything?
“It’s unreasonable to ask us to make such sacrifices.”
Despite what the experts say, Batu Arang resident Ngo is still sceptical of WTE incinerators, even if the plant was moved to an area with fewer anticipated geological hazards,
“The prerequisites are whether there are fire hazards in the area, and it needs to meet the environmental assessment standards of the Puchong incinerator plan, with a 7.5km buffer zone (from residential areas).
“The final decision lies with the residents (of the proposed location),” he said.
“If they need our help (to oppose it), we will provide support.” - Mkini
This series was supported by the Earth Journalism Network.

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