Kuala Lumpur: Discarded electronic appliances, or e-waste, seized during the ‘Op Hazard’ operation on February 15 will be auctioned to companies with valid licenses under the Department of Environment (DOE). DOE director-general Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar announced that 15,764.90 tonnes of e-waste valued at RM55 million were confiscated during the operation.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, samples of the confiscated materials will be taken as evidence in court before they are auctioned to a company that holds a valid license with the DOE. This was mentioned by Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff during a joint press conference with Bukit Aman Department of Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim.

Wan Abdul Latiff further stated that there are a total of 156 e-waste Recovery Facilities licensed under Section 18 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, with 111 of them being partial e-waste recovery facilities.

During the operation, conducted nationwide on February 15, the DOE inspected 47 premises, identifying six that had valid licenses from the department. “All the premises are investigated for possibly flouting licensing regulations,” he noted, emphasizing that many illegally operating premises lack a proper smoke funnel filtering system.

He also highlighted the health risks associated with e-waste processing, stating that uncontrolled processes can lead to serious health issues, including cancer, for individuals residing near the implicated processing plants. He underlined the importance of disposing of expired electrical and electronic equipment in an environmentally friendly manner at facilities licensed by the DOE.