37 tonnes of trash removed from JB hoarder's home; 'mountain' cleared by 50 volunteers

Fifty volunteers gathered outside a home in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Sunday (July 27) — and proceeded to move a 'mountain'.

An excavator, nine lorries and 50 volunteers from various organisations within the community were required in the undertaking, Oriental Daily reported.

Around 37 tonnes of trash hoarded in an elderly man's home along Jalan Sutera 6 were disposed of, according to a Facebook post by Johor Bahru City councillor Chan San San that day.

In her posts documenting the clean-up works, Chan shared photographs and videos of the effort, showing how garbage was overflowing from the home of the 76-year-old retired teacher, spilling onto the street.

The elderly man's hoard of belongings, including bags of trash, trolleys, egg cartons, pails and more, had accumulated within his home, building a heaping mountain of garbage that reached the ceiling of his two-storey terrace.

This was the result of two decades of hoarding, Malaysian publication The Rakyat Post reported on Tuesday (July 29).

In multiple videos posted by Chan, volunteers can be seen sorting through the man's trash by hand, tossing things into garbage bins that were quickly overflowing.

Meanwhile, the elderly hoarder attempted to salvage what he could, taking small objects out from the bins even as they were loaded onto lorries by the excavator.

He was also advising volunteers on what he wanted to keep or sell, prompting Chan to comment in the video: "Actually, he knows where he keeps all his things."

She added: "We'll return the money we get from selling off some these items to [the elderly hoarder]… our main focus today is to clear the rubbish. There's really too much."

Chan also wrote in her post that this effort began when she was contacted by fellow councillor Sally Ng to gather volunteers to clean up the man's home.

Describing it as a "hell of a task", she highlighted the difficulty of dealing with the terrible odour emanating from the home as well as a possibility that the elderly man might suddenly change his mind, possibly harming others or himself.

"Today, 32 tonnes of trash and five tonnes of recyclables have been collected," she said, adding that she broke her own personal record for cleaning up a hoarder's home.

An infamous hoarder

Chan also revealed in a later post that the hoarder's home had already garnered infamy with the Johor Bahru City Council.

"The owner often acts unexpectedly, hurting people or using sharp weapons to threaten workers and volunteers," she wrote.

According to Chan, his home had been cleared several times before, but the elderly hoarder was a repeat offender whose temper would scare away volunteer groups.

She explained that she had decided to clear the items because of the danger that they posed to the neighbourhood, highlighting that some residents had already been hospitalised due to dengue.

She also shared that the elderly hoarder had initially agreed to the cleanup, but began cursing and swearing at them for losing his belongings after they had completed the task.

"He called us liars," Chan recalled. "But everything is as expected, and we won't care about what he says.

"Next, we will act in accordance with the law to prevent something like this from happening again!"

Addressing members of the public, Chan also advised against pitying or sympathising with the elderly hoarder.

"It's his neighbours who you should take pity on for having to tolerate the terrible smells and live with snakes and rats for so many years," she wrote.

Chan added that the Johor Bahru Town Council may decide to admit the elderly hoarder into a care home in the future, if necessary.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com