Johor villagers grapple with dumping of illegal construction waste allegedly from Singapore

“We also do not want any land, including private land, to be used for uncontrolled waste disposal or land-filling. Landowners have a responsibility to ensure that every activity carried out on their land complies with the law,” Jafni added.

Dumping activities allegedly going on for years

Residents and local activists said the problem of indiscriminate dumping goes beyond the sites being investigated. They said the problem has been going on for years and involves locally generated construction debris as well as debris from outside Johor.

At Kampung Sungai Senai Belokok, one dumping site sits just 33m across the road from homes, with two more plots behind the village. The three sites each span roughly half the size of a football field.

Broken tiles, cement scraps, rubber hoses, metal bars and construction equipment like cement buckets and helmets can be seen at the sites. In some areas, smoke billowed from underground, carrying the smell of burnt rubber and wood.

“This used to be palm oil land and then it was left unused and became forested,” said villager Maria Zakaria, 71. She said dumping had gone on for more than two years and intensified earlier in 2026. “They used to conduct their operations discreetly till some time in March this year when they cleared the trees and levelled the land.”

Residents complained that their sleep has been affected by trucks and excavators operating late at night.

“The trucks would come in and dump the waste and then an excavator would level the waste and flatten it on the land,” said Amiratul Azwa Kamil, 35. The mother of one said dust from the debris blows into homes, dirtying laundry and causing persistent itching and coughing, particularly among children.

Yet, the same construction waste has value in these rural communities. A Senai scrapyard operator, Joe Rahim, 49, said residents sometimes use discarded materials for minor reclamation and land-levelling work, including filling potholes. “Sometimes these operators will give it to you for free,” he said. “It’s useful material and saves you the cost of buying rocks.”

Irwan Alif, founder of environmental group Sahabat Muda Johor, said the dumping was not confined to the sites being investigated. He had come across other plots across Johor where landowners allegedly lease out land for waste disposal.

Irwan, who has campaigned for more than a decade for stricter enforcement of waste laws, said monitoring what crosses the Singapore-Malaysia border remains a challenge. The problem is that SWCorp has no jurisdiction at the Customs, he said, adding that it is a grey area in terms of who is responsible for restricting the import of construction waste.

ST has contacted Singapore’s National Environment Agency to ask if it has received complaints about companies exporting waste from Singapore to Johor, and the Johor Customs Department to ask if it was aware of the import of controlled waste and the rules pertaining to this.

Responding to queries from ST, SWCorp’s Zainal said the rural location of the Pontian sites makes enforcement more difficult. 

While some residents use construction scraps for small-scale work on their properties, such use is illegal and can pose health and fire risks, he said.

“If you use construction debris to reclaim or level your land, and if you are caught doing it, you’ll have to dig it all up and rebuild again,” he said.

Construction waste can release flammable gases such as methane and spark a fire, he added.

“All it takes is for someone to throw a burning cigarette butt and cause a fire. And because the material is buried deep underground, it’s going to be challenging to put the fire out,” he said.