Waste Management in Malaysia

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MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS

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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................3
Significance of waste management.........................................................3
Issues related to Solid waste management..............................................3
Reduction, minimization, and recycling of wastes....................................4
Avoidance of solid waste......................................................................5
Solid waste reduction..........................................................................5
Reuse of Solid Wastes..........................................................................5
Recycling of solid waste.......................................................................5
Recovery of energy..............................................................................6
Disposal of Solid Waste........................................................................6
Government measures to control the wastes in Malaysia..........................6
Recommendation...................................................................................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................7

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Introduction
Municipal waste management has become an important issue, which if not solved will
affect the economic growth of growing cities such as Malaysia. Malaysia has a good market
economy in comparison to other cities in Southeast Asia and is ranking in Southeast Asia is
fourth. Since the last 50 years, the average GDP of Malaysia is 6.5 percent per annum. One of
the main sources of waste is from construction activity. An average of thirty-five percent of solid
waste generates from construction activities. According to the Malaysian municipal corporation
survey in 2012 the solid waste generation was 33000 tons. The nature and the sources of the
solid waste must be identified and classified so that it can assist the waste management to
manage the wastes efficiently which can lead to increase in the economic growth of the country.
Waste management is generally a process in which several types of wastes are identified and
categorized and then it is collected and after that, it is processed and the last step is that it is
recycled accordingly. Malaysia is expanding in various sectors such as tourism, science,
commerce, etc. For solid waste management, Malaysia is highly reliable on landfills.
Significance of waste management
In 2001, the solid wastes in Malaysia had been estimated at about 5.475 million tons.
Most of the waste generates from urban areas of Malaysia. Almost 65 percent of the total waste
generates from the urban population of Malaysia. The main objective of waste management is to
eliminate or reduce the generation of waste management in Malaysia so that it will not affect the
health of the people of Malaysia. In 2010, the population of Malaysia was 27,565,821 as
compared to the population in the year 2000 which was 22,198,276. As it can be seen that the
population rate has been increased significantly and with the increased population the generation
of solid wastes has also been increased. Plastics, foods, papers are the main components of
wastes in Malaysia. From 1975-2005, the composition of plastic and paper has been increased
significantly. Almost 80 percent of the solid waste generates from these components. In Kuala
Lumpur which is the largest city and capital of Malaysia, the generation of solid waste is
increasing rapidly. According to de Oliveira (2016), there is also inorganic waste such as waste
from metal, waste generated from plastics and waste generated from the glass. The toxic level of
the wastes is very high, which if not control will affect the economy as well as the lifestyle of
Malaysian residents. The composition of waste is also influenced by factors such as standard of
living, weather, geographical location and as well as energy sources. The practices to control
solid waste should be modified and updated.
Issues related to Solid waste management
The poor management of solid waste is one of the main issues in Malaysia. The solid
waste should be characterized by composition, kinds of solid waste, generation rates, and