Smoke Gets in My Eyes: The Case of Air Pollution in Cinta Sayang

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.)

Locations of areas affected by waste plastic burning as mentioned in above.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

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. 

“Broken” aims to expose corrupt and unethical conduct lurking in major consumer industries.

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.

Knives Out? A Nibble on Food and Diet Habits

How are professionals in KL, Singapore (and some in Jakarta) thinking about diets? We reached out and got 100 responses from the Khor Reports network and their friends (with 47 in the 26-35 year old range, 36 with postgrad degrees, and 65 were women).

Recently, 52 were on low-carb, 43 on plant-based/vegetarian (1) plus three on vegan, 39 on intermittent fast, 16 on low-fat, 31 on others (niche) diets, and four on no diet (note: these numbers won't total 100 as some are on multiple diets). Notably, 60 were following at least one diet four to seven days per week in the last month.

What do younger professionals tell us? Its rangey. Khor Reports spoke to some on plant-based diets for four days per week, and those turning vegan. Others say they still need meat to feel satiated, but diets are definitely the trend.

Netflix has had a major influence with docu-series "Rotten" on bad behaviour food supplychains and even more the splashy-controversial "The Game Changers" on the health benefits (even for sex?!) of skipping meat. This movie-length documentary has a dozen executive producers, including James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jackie Chan.

So climate change may not be front of mind here (a laggard climate rebellion zone), but this is what faux meat makers are counting on for a bigger market. There is doubt about the taste and price point of Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger. Some ask why ultra processed (a newer question on more and more lips, as “clean labels” are the trend) and (the traditional) questions arise about the presentation of veg as meat (recall that ethnic Chinese and Buddhist segments are quite familiar with fake meats, including from Taiwan for decades now).

Climate-damaging diets may be a rising concern over time. Palm oil has its detractors for nigh on 20 years now on this issue, but it is the meat (especially beef) sector that is garnering a lot of attention nowadays. The latest buzz words in food sector: plant-based, clean meat, clean label, and sustainable.

The launch of plant-based products is the latest thing and there is good awareness of lower footprint proteins, so beef is getting into a worry zone. UK farmers are tussling with a BBC documentary, “Meat: A threat to our planet?”

In a chat with grain experts we mused that plant-based may take a 8-15 percent market share. Look at the Rebel Whopper, a burger with 0% beef from Burger King using patties from Unilever’s The Vegetarian Butcher unit (see ad image). The fast food chain also uses meat substitutes from Impossible Meat (its share price is on a roller coaster ride) and Beyond Burger; and recently attribute stronger sales growth to its new plant based products.

Results from 100 respondents

Khor Reports’ mini poll found keen respondents for its question on diets, and it’s notable that plant-based/vegetarian and vegan was almost as popular with this group as low-carb, and intermittent fast came a close third, and low fat was a distant fourth. No diet was notably low! Other diets include more niche ones such as the ketogenic diet (keto), the paleolithic diet (paleo), the mediterranean diet, the gluten-free/lactose-free diet, and the fish-based diet.

The poll was conducted from 1 December 2019 to 9 December 2019. We focused on reaching out to more millennials and Gen-Zs, and achieved half of respondents in this range, i.e. 35 years old and below, and more than half were women. An overwhelming number of respondents have completed their tertiary education—56% of respondents obtained an undergraduate degree just over a third went on to finish a postgraduate course. So this is a rather niche segment of consumers!

Diets are not the only health-conscious effort people are making. Especially popular among younger professionals, we hear anecdotes of various exercise routines, such as the high intensity interval training (HIIT).

Here are what some of our respondents have to say about the diet trend:

“I think that diet crazes have subsided slightly last few years and people are tending towards just trying to be healthy as opposed to trying to shed weight fast. Trending against eating meat.”

“There's low awareness on the pros and cons about each diet, and the purpose of the diet. There's also low awareness on making that chosen diet sustainable.”

“More information out there in the market now about what is healthy and not so it’s easier to make informed decisions rather than following fads.”

Honing in on the plant-based/vegetarian/vegan segment

This group of 43 respondents is younger, more female and a bit more dedicated (on days per week count) than the wider group of 100. Almost half were from the media, market research, consulting and professional service economic sectors.

While there are a handful who practice just a vegetarian/plant-based or vegan diet, many claim that they combine their plant-based/vegetarian/vegan regiments with other types of eating habits, such as a keto diet, a paleo diet, and intermittent fasting.

Most appear to adopt their current eating lifestyle due to health reasons, with one respondent citing personal health and an interest in reducing GHG. Only a few referred to the environment and climate change as their primary motivations. In total, 3 respondents (7% of this segment) specifically mentioned an environmental issue or concern in their comments. Perhaps diet is not a key way this group expresses its climate concerns.

Several of our plant-based/vegetarian/vegan respondents left interesting comments:

“Diets have been traditionally quite hard to stick to for me! My efforts to avoid certain foods through a Keto or low carb diet have always ended in disaster ‘cause I'm not able to resist or overcome my cravings. But Game Changers on Netflix has proved to be the most effective way to change my eating habits. I love meat but the content of that documentary has somehow made it easier for me to opt for or seek out more plant based options, without a feeling of deprivation building up. Maybe ‘cause I still get to eat sugar and carbs.”

“There seems to be a trend to be vegetarian, or to practice 'meatless Mondays' within the environmentally conscious millennial community.”

“The main difference I found with plant-based diet is that I heal from inflammation faster. My hormone cycle is more regular. However, this diet requires meticulous research and planning to acquire that balance and sufficient nutrition that is required by the body to function normally.”

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Footnote

1. There are 14 responses that said they practice both vegetarian and plant-based diets. A vegetarian diet generally means abstaining from meat, fish, or poultry. A plant-based diet typically consists of mostly whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, unsalted nuts, and healthy oils. While meat, fish and/or poultry are still included in the diet, they make up much smaller portions of the diet.

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/plant-based-diet-or-vegetarian-diet-difference