Trash collectors told to buck up

Both The NST and The Star covered this media event and reported it in the papers today. However, please read both reports and figure out their angle of reporting which are quite different. Anyhow, the additional information is good for us Kajang citizens. Both reports are given below.

We expect the local government to buck up and get more value for our money collected through the assessments that we pay. So, we should call the number given 1-800-88-6755 for any complaints of unsatisfactory rubbish cleaning.

Until the next time, cheers.

The NST, Monday, 10 October 2011

Trash collectors told to buck up

KAJANG: "Two strikes and you are out!" This was Kajang Municipal Council's stern warning to errant refuse collection contractors. 

 

Council president Datuk Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman said those who had received two consecutive "notices to correct" starting next year might have their licences terminated.

"A 'notice to correct' is issued when a contractor has failed to carry out collection within the scheduled time.

"Normally, if they fail to do their work, we will engage another company which will clean up and deduct the payment from the original contractor.

"Currently, we can't simply terminate the services of errant contractors as we are bound to existing agreements.

"However, things will change as we will impose more stringent criteria in the selection of contractors and monitoring their work.

"In the future, two 'notices to correct' is all we need to terminate a licence. This is to ensure consistent service for the public."

He was talking to the media about the council's preparations to take over refuse collection from Sunday.

"We haven't done this for a long time, after handing the work to Alam Flora in 1996, but we are ready. We urge the public to call us at 1-800-88-6755 if the contractors provide unsatisfactory services."

The council expects to save about RM3 million annually with the take over.

"We are paying RM3.18 million per month for refuse collection and expect to slash costs to RM2.8 million."

He said the council might consider getting its own compactors for refuse collection as a standby next year.

"This is to ensure that refuse collection continues to run smoothly if service is disrupted. If contractors do their work efficiently, we won't need to buy the machines which cost about RM300,000 each.

"We will monitor the existing 108 contractors (engaged by Alam Flora) that will continue until the end of the year before starting open tenders after that. We also have hired four companies for the job."

He said companies bidding for the work next year would be scrutinised based on their performance on the ground and financially, and the number of staff and compactors.

"We will make sure that fewer jobs are sub-contracted. "We realise that it created problems, including irregular collection because of the low payment they received from the contractors. Some didn't even have compactors."

Local councils in Selangor took over public cleansing from Alam Flora in August. Recently it was decided that local councils should take over refuse collection as well. -- By Nuradzimmah Daim 

The Star, Monday October 10, 2011

MPKj ready to take over waste collection

KAJANG Municipal Council (MPKj) is ready to take over garbage collection services from Alam Flora starting Sunday.

Council president Datuk Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman said there would be 112 contractors for both solid waste collection and maintenance of roads and drains.

“About 90% of them are existing contractors while 10% are new ones.

Business as usual: A grasscutting work has been taken over by the council.

 

“After three months, those whose performance is not up to standard will be terminated.

“Now, there are more than 2,000 applicants vying for the contracts. We are looking for contractors with their own compactors, tools, manpower and good work record,” he said.

Hassan said there would be 45 new zones for waste collection and 67 for cleaning services. Problems related to rubbish are raised at every monthly full board meeting.

Kajang Perdana and Bangi top the list for problems related to rubbish.

He expects some hiccups during the transition period because it has been 13 years since the council has undertaken the duties of waste collection.

“One of the problems is too much sub-contracting. To counter this, the open tender profit margin is 7% to 12%. Hence, if the contractors sub-let it, they will have a smaller profit margin.

“We hope the public can cooperate by calling our hotline 1-800-88-6755 if they have any problems with the services in their areas,” he said.

MPKj will also have a back-up team, consisting of two compactors and 10 workers on stand-by in case the contractors are not doing their job.

Local councils in Selangor have already taken over the cleaning and maintenance services from Alam Flora in August.

The planned takeover of garbage collection services on Oct 16 is ahead of the scheduled Jan 1, 2012 deadline.

The takeover of these services will save the 12 local councils a total of RM100mil a year from the RM400mil spent previously.

The money saved, according to the Selangor government, will be channelled back to the councils to upgrade their equipment and increase manpower for cleaning services.

According to Hassan, waste collection and maintenance services in Kajang costs RM3.1mil per month.

“When the council takes over, it is expected to be only RM2.8mil per month. We can save about RM3mil per year,” he said.