Something smells in Cinta Sayang. Reeking of smoke, the air in the morning of 28 June 2019 at the quiet Sungai Petani town reportedly registered a “hazardous” Air Pollutant Index (API) of 395 on the PM2.5 scale on a local resident’s handheld air quality monitoring device (Interestingly, official data shows a 67 API reading Sungai Petani). As a comparison, the worst hit area in Malaysia during the 2019 haze was Sri Aman in Sarawak (East Malaysia), which recorded an API reading of 367 on 17 September. 

The locations and time-frames (the official reading averages things out) may differ; and the handheld reading was recorded at 6.35 a.m. at an industrial area near the Cinta Sayang Resort. Nevertheless, our curiosity was piqued when we got a wind of this. So here's a preliminary review on the smoky problem.

The culprit of the toxic fumes in Cinta Sayang is allegedly a factory operating in the nearby Kampung Serukam area. Locals point out that waste plastic burning activities were carried out in the cover of night. The air pollution was so bad, it has affected not only Cinta Sayang, but also surrounding Sungai Petani residential areas including Bandar Puteri Jaya, Bandar Astana, Bandar Seri Astana, and Taman Cendana. School children are pictured walking about in (questionably effective) surgical masks. All these alerts have circulated in social media, raising alarm beyond the community feeling under siege. 

A quick search shows that plastic waste burning is not an occurrence unique to Sungai Petani. Reports of similar incidents are splattered across Malaysia, from Bukit Mertajam, Penang to Ipoh, Perak to Kuala Langat, Selangor. And like Cinta Sayang, most, if not all, of these incidents are attributed to factories burning plastic out in the open—news reports and witness accounts oftentimes point out that such factories operated illegally, despite the numerous complaints by local residents and crackdowns by the authorities. 

(Jenjarom is another notable location where the dumping and burning of waste plastics is just as serious, with 17,000 tonnes of waste found to have been processed, dumped, and burnt in the open in the wee hours by recycling factories operating illegally in the area.)

Health-wise, the damage of air pollution caused by burning plastic waste is concerning. A study by Berkeley Earth has shown that one cigarette per day (24 hours) is about the equivalent of a PM2.5 level of 22 μg/m3 for one day. Recall that in the case of Cinta Sayang, the air in the morning of 28 June 2019 was recorded a PM2.5 level of 395 μg/m3. If this lasted an hour, every person in Cinta Sayang could have been inhaling, at worst, up to 18 cigarettes; and if this lasted half an hour it may have been equivalent to 9 cigarettes. A relevant news article carries a screenshot from a private air pollution meter.

To put this a health perspective, smoking a cigarette a day puts male smokers at a 48% higher risk of heart disease compared to their non-smoker counterparts; for female smokers, the risk is 57%.

Could waste plastic burners be inflicting several cigarettes equivalent on local residents? This is only an estimate for a single day in Sungai Petani. According to the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), the problem has been ongoing for more than a year. Environmental activists claim that Cinta Sayang is still frequently recording dangerous levels of air pollution, with API readings varying between 120 to 150 in early November.

So, this preliminary review of the troubling waste plastic cum air pollution problem points to significant angst and health concerns for Cinta Sayang. For the next step, we hope to speak to those on the ground to get a more complete picture of the situation in the Kedah-ian Town. 

There are other sites of concern. Jenjarom and Port Klang in Selangor are featured in the first episode in a Netflix docuseries called “Broken”. News alerts point to more. What do community activists across Malaysia rate prospects for a resolution of their local waste plastics pollution problem? What do they think of Pakatan Harapan's plans to regulate waste plastic imports (at a larger volume) and build big incinerators?

Read about our review of waste plastic imports here.