By 2031, SMC has a mission of transforming Sibu as liveable and sustainable city through strategic partnership with key stakeholders, innovation and good governance.
This is in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 11, titled “sustainable cities and communities”.
In order to achieve this, one of the ways is through the implementation of environment and green activities.
SMC Environment Committee
SMC’s Environment Committee plays a pivotal role in implementing the council environment projects and initiatives.
During an interview with the acting municipal secretary of SMC, Yong Ing Chu said that the council has eight (8) committee members that convenes every month.
The committee consist of Council members, top management, department heads and relevant staff.
Most project proposals or initiatives will be discussed in a specific committee before being implemented.
The projects and initiatives will be implemented according to existing procedures, guidelines, and governance. If necessary, a sub-committee will be formed to discuss and deal with specific issues.
Community garden
According to Yong, one of the most successful environmental initiatives by SMC is its community garden initiative.
“The community garden is managed by the JKKK (village security and development committee) where they plant mostly vegetables for their own consumption,” said Yong.
Started by the Health, Environment & City Services Division Committee in 2020, the project was initiated to overcome the problem of nuisance caused by vegetable cultivation activities in unmanaged open spaces or roadsides.
An open area of 2,761 square meters located at Lorong Kiew Nang 5C, Sibu was used as a pilot project for a community garden.
The community involved is the project are Kiew Nang 5C Garden Residents Committee which consists of a group of local residents who live nearby. The collaborating partner for the community garden project is the Enoch Sibu Senior Citizens Association.
For the project, the association has donated environment-friendly materials such as eco-bricks for plant borders. Aside from that, MPS also helped by preparing garden sites, supplying EM Bokashi compost bins, compost from the Green Market project and also kitchen waste enzymes to fertilize plants.
In 2021, the community garden project won third place in the Community Innowaste Competition in conjunction with Sarawak State Public Service Innovation Month.
Waste to Wealth
During the COVID-19 recovery phase, SMC has launched several environmental awareness programs and promoted the involvements of non-governmental organisation (NGOs) into those programs such as “Waste to Wealth” program, electrical and electronic waste collection campaigns and more.
After adapting to the new norm, it was discovered that there was a surge in the involvement of NGOs and the community in preserving the environment.
Food waste
One of the highlighted green initiatives by SMC is its food waste management.
Food and garden waste are classified as organic matter of the municipal waste by NREB, apart from plastic, papers and other refuse collected from households, commercial and industrial sources and are disposed of at landfills.
Based on the 2015 Report, about 2,187 metric tonnes per day of municipal waste were collected and sent to landfills all over Sarawak.
From the total, food and garden waste constituted the highest – contributing to about 40 per cent, or 874.8 metric tonnes, per day.
Under SMC, a compost centre has been built in an open area next to the neighbourhood basketball court near the Sungai Antu Hawker Centre.
After collecting food waste which predominantly came from those send from the Sibu Central Market, the waste will be processed, in which the end product from the machine is of high quality and does not emit a foul smell or attract flies.
About the Premier of Sarawak Environmental Award
Formerly known as the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Environmental Award (CMEA), the Premier of Sarawak Environmental Award (PSEA) was introduced in 2001 by the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) in collaboration with Sarawak Business Federation (SBF).
It gives recognition to those who have demonstrated exemplary environmental effort and commitment in Sarawak, be they industries, local authorities, government sectors, teams, individuals, or eateries and food outlets.
The award strives to empower and inculcate positive attitude, and raise awareness on environmental sustainability. It also aims to reinforce the concept of environmental sustainability as being everyone’s business; provide organisations with the opportunity of an independent evaluation of their environmental commitment, management and performance; and recognise those who have contributed significantly to environmental sustainability.
During the 10th edition that was held in December 2022, SMC earned the Gold Award in the Local Authority Category.
SMC was previously awarded the Champion Award in the same category in 9th Chief Minister Environmental Award (CMEA) 2019/2020.
