We Can Clean Up Sungai Kim Kim Safely Cheaply Says Recycling Group

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Drums filled with enzyme stand at a home of a volunteer group cultivating enzymes in Johor Bahru. Each is filled with 400-litres of enzymes which they claim can help reduce the pollution at Sungai Kim Kim.GEORGE TOWN: A volunteer group specialising in recycling food waste today said it can help clean up the polluted Sungai Kim Kim, toxic fumes which had caused about 2,000 people to be sick
Ung Hung Hung, who runs the Johor chapter of a food recycling group, said she had over 10 tonnes of enzymes which could be poured into the polluted river with results to show between two days and a few weeks
Speaking to FMT, she said the enzyme had been widely used in China and Thailand to clean up rivers, especially industrial pollution disasters
“The enzyme costs almost nothing. It is perfectly safe and has no harmful effect, compared with chemicals used to clean rivers,” she said
If the government would allow it, Ung said her group was offering its enzyme stockpile to help with the situation in Pasir Gudang
Ung said the enzyme was made with waste such as orange peel and other fruits mixed in a solution consisting of one part brown sugar (molasses) and 10 parts water. The concoction is then left to ferment for three months
She said her volunteer group, known as XDTD Malaysia, had nearly 1,000 active followers across Malaysia who had been cultivating the enzyme for home use
Ung said recently an enzyme user in China used the same formula to help clean-up a river with heavy metal pollution
The enzyme, also called the “eco-enzyme” or “garbage enzyme”, was developed by Thai organic researcher Rosukon Poompanvong
“This enzyme can break down chemicals, and in polluted waters, it can breakdown polluted molecules, making them less harmful or easier for marine life to eat,” Ung said
One litre of enzyme could treat one thousand litres of polluted water, she claimed
A study by Curtin University Sarawak in 2011 showed such “garbage enzymes” could remove phosphates and ammonia nitrogen from wastewater but that it had limited impact on “curing” wastewater
It was reported that 3,555 individuals had been affected by toxic fumes from Sungai Kim Kim. The fumes were said to be caused by chemical waste dumped into the river
All schools in the Pasir Gudang area have been closed indefinitely. No deaths have been reported
The government announced that cleaning up work in the river has been going on from March 13. -FMT

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