Solid Waste Management in Malaysia

This article discusses the challenges and future prospects of solid waste management in Malaysia. It covers topics such as waste composition, public awareness, and government initiatives. The article also highlights the importance of education and behavior change in improving waste management practices.

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Introduction
The production of waste in Malaysia has augmented significantly. Organic materials are a
major portion of solid waste that is produced in the country. As a consequence of positive
population growth and emission of waste, the land area will be more demanding and this will
lead to the increased cost of the management of solid waste. Waste separation and organic
composition can make up a good solution for the reduction of waste disposal. Public awareness
is important in efforts to improve solid waste disposal. Malaysia is a tropical country covering

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329,843km2 (Noor, Yusuf, & Abba, 2015, p. 54).The population of Malaysia by 2012 was
approximately 28 million and 80% of the population was living in Peninsula Malaysia while
20% of the total population resides in the Eastern part of the country (Noor, Yusuf, & Abba,
2015, p. 55). The daily municipal waste generation stands at 330,000 tons and this precedes the
projected generation. As a result of the latter, the country dispossesses a total of 28,000 tons a
day in the landfills. There is, therefore, need for vital landfills that are sustainable so as to avoid
unwanted effects on human health.
The Ministry of construction has reported that the government has so far built 290
landfills and that 175 of them are still operational while 115 have been closed down as a result of
insufficient space. The landfills then operate the environment at different degrees such as air
pollution, water pollution, and sanitary challenges (Manaf , Samah, & Zukki, 2017, p. 56).
Research shows that 50% of the generated waste is organic. Organic waste disposal is likely
going to cause the anaerobic process to the environment, production of ethane and gas and all
this would occur during the process of anaerobic digestion.
In the last 10 years, the management of municipal solid waste has been a challenge in the
advancement plans all over the world. Malaysia is a good example of the few successful
countries in this transition. The country is facing rapid industrialization and urbanization and this
has resulted in adverse effects in the environment. Rapid industrialization has made Malaysia
change its characteristics in management of waste. The solid waste has also been increased by
the demand for improved quality of lifestyles (Fauziah & Simon, 2017, p. 23). The main
objective of solid waste controlling is to lessen the quantity of waste that is created and
consequently reduce the effects to the environment. The solid waste management that is

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practiced in the LDCs comes along with several adverse effects including low collection
coverage, crude open dumping, and burning.
In the last decade, the creation of MSW amplified to more than 90%. In 2002, estimates
show that 5.5 million tons of waste was produced while in capital cities the quantity amounted to
1.7kg per capita per day (Tan , Ho , & Hashim, 2016). The main point of waste generation is the
main cities which contribute more than 65% of the total population. In the Kuala Lumpur, there
is a high rate of waste generation which comes as a result of uncontainable consumption due to
the huge population and attitudes towards expenditure and high living standards. Plastics, papers,
and foods are the major gears of the solid waste in Malaysia whereby they cover about 80% of
the total waste. The most obvious change in the composition of waste is the increase in the
volume of plastics and paper (Kathirvale & Yunus, 2015, p. 45). Waste composition is also
influenced by other factors like the geographical location, weather and the standards of living.
Characteristics of MSW Generation
In the meantime, poor management is a major challenge in Malaysia. In all aspects of
solid waste administration, the important feature that should be considered is the characteristic of
the waste that is generated.in describing the characteristics of the waste generated, we should
consider the solid waste stream, composition and the types of waste produced (Johari, Ahmed, &
Hashim, 2017).
Public Awareness
The way in which human beings respond to waste management is greatly influenced by
their level of education. Public education is, therefore, an important factor as far as waste
management is concerned. Environmental awareness in Malaysia is not adequate. The
government of Malaysia has introduced a recycling campaign in the last 10 years. However, the

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campaigns have not been yielding so many fruits. Professionalism in solid waste management in
Malaysia is also so weak and not adequately represented (Kadir & Yin, 2014, p. 54). There is a
need to improve skills among practitioners in human waste management. The country is not in a
position to hire professionals in waste management plan since the personnel required is not
adequate. Lack of adequate skilled personnel in recent years has led to poor management of
facilities in the country.
The Ongoing Waste Management Process
Most cities in South East Asia are not able to exercise improved waste supervision due to
the shortcomings of several matters including technical and established facts and public
contribution (Mohamed & Lee, 2014, p. 54). Residential waste produces only 30% of the total
waste but the planners give so much weight to this type of waste and therefore forget the other
sources of waste such as industries and institutional wastes.
The primary challenge in MSW management in the developing countries is disposal
through the traditional filling of land. Landfilling fee is relatively low and there are also
difficulties in the circulation and attraction in landfills (Fauziah & Simon, 2017, p. 52). Malaysia
prefers to do waste management through the use of the landfill process. Most of the dumping
sites in the country are an open area. Open dumping is the most preferred proves since it is the
cheapest method and most common method of treating solid waste that possesses a high
percentage of solid waste that has large amounts of the organic component (Manaf , Samah, &
Zukki, 2017, p. 132). Open dumping gives the environment severe impacts such as
contamination of surface and underground water, contamination of soil through direct contact
with waste, bad smell in the dumping sites and the uncontrolled emission of methane by the
decomposing solid waste. The practice of landfilling by a large extends affects the river water to

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the risk of contamination unless there is proper management of waste carried out. Up to date,
there is very limited information concerning the effect of leachate from the controlled and
uncontrolled landfills in rivers in Malaysia (Mohamed & Lee, 2014, p. 113).
Waste collection covers most communities in Malaysia but only an approximate of 66%
of the rural areas are covered. As a consequence, there is waste being dumped in the streets and
this affects the community members (Noor, Yusuf, & Abba, 2015, p. 154). The situation also
causes serious environmental and social threats which include flooding, breeding habitats for
insects and also the spread of diseases/the table shown below shows the percentage of wastes
treatment in Malaysia.
Currently, the country is managing 176 landfills and has in the recent past closed 115 of
the landfills. With the increase in towns, the number of landfills is needed and the government is
finding it hard to locate sites where they can ump the wastes because the neighboring
communities are not in for the idea of the operation of new landfills in their midst (Noor, Yusuf,
& Abba, 2015, p. 178).
The Malaysian government is only left with an option of mandatory recycling and
imposition of fines for any incompliance .programs that disseminated recycling bins and hoped
for the best have been commenced and halted in 2007..the government policies have been met
with shock and ignorance hence making ending up to be a total failure. The government has
however not given up but has continued to rally up once more (Tan , Ho , & Hashim, 2016, p.
178). The state is very serious on the matter of recycling waste. The most recent iteration of
municipal solid waste management has been taken with a lot of seriousness and has been fully
implemented in almost all areas. The mandatory waste separation program and the legal Act

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emphasize educating the Malaysians on how to separate recyclables from garbage and the rest of
the work is left to the garbage collectors.
Generally, the authorities are responsible for solid waste management and precisely the
local government. The responsibilities of the local authorities in waste management include the
collection of the solid waste, treatment, and disposal of the waste, cleanliness of the local
environment, landscaping, planning, licensing and enforcement of bylaws (Mohamed & Lee,
2014, p. 25).
There are also other authorities that are involved in solid waste management either
directly or indirectly. For instance, the department of environment enforces the standards for
discharges and emissions that the firms are supposed to make to the environment. Through the
department of rural environment and sanitation, the ministry of health aids the implementation of
solid waste management in some remote areas that are not currently serviced (Kathirvale &
Yunus, 2015, p. 154). The economic planning which is under the department of prime minister is
involved in the management of the solid waste throughout the state. In addition to the latter,
these bodies have a major role in solid waste management like controlling the solid waste
generators on the amount of waste that they are supposed to produce, the solid waste
manufacturers, in this case, includes the factories and public. The most important group for solid
waste management is the stakeholders, industries and businesses currently, the participation of
waste generators in the solid waste management is not significant as there is no definite role for
the stakeholders to participate.
Manufacturers also play a role that is not significant in the management of solid waste
since are no definite policies or incentives for the reduction of waste products, recycling of the
wastes or even reusing them. However, with the pressure from the government to keep up with

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the standards set by ISO 1400 and mostly for the agencies and individuals involved in the
exportation of manufactured food (Kadir & Yin, 2014, p. 212).
There are some participants who are involved in recycling and reprocessing of the waste
materials including paper, plastics, and aluminum among other materials. Many of these firms
undertake these activities because of the returns they have on investment. However, there are no
incentives clearly defined for recycling activities (Kadir & Yin, 2014, p. 132). The roles played
by the public and other public interest groups are also not significant in solid waste management.
Public awareness concerning solid waste management is at a very early stage. There is increased
dumping of waste in townships, squatter areas and also the rural localities. The table below sows
the percentage of waste treatment in Asia.
(Mohamed & Lee, 2014,
p. 44).
Future Prospects for Solid Waste Management in Malaysia
When coming up with a waste management system in Malaysia, the needs of the citizens of
Malaysia need to be put into consideration. Several factors affect the management of solid waste
including; public health, protection of the environment, issues concerning industrial growth and
public awareness among other factors (Manaf , Samah, & Zukki, 2017, p. 154). Conventional
waste management, collection, and disposal systems are planned in a separate manner although

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they are closely related and have influence over each other. There should be consideration of a
balance between transport systems, patterns of land use and urban growth and development. It is
important for the management to develop targets of a sustainable environment. The laid targets
can be a motivation for the MSW to work hard to achieve them provided that they are realistic
and achievable (Kathirvale & Yunus, 2015, p. 157). Otherwise, there will be an achievement of
negative effects and end with jeopardizing the management of waste. The targets that are
proposed should possess clear vision, and mission and should be devoid of political interference.
Improvement of Public Behavior and Education
In the minimization of MSW, it is good to understand the behavior of the public at large.
Lack of norms and knowledge in the society often has negative effects in the municipal solid
waste management. The interest of the public to take part in the solid waste management is
depended on their awareness concerning the solid waste management the socioeconomic status
and characteristics of the population affect both the MSW and also the behavior of solid waste
management (Manaf , Samah, & Zukki, 2017, p. 168). The behaviors that affect solid waste
management in Malaysia include age, ethnicity, gender, and education among others. Research
shows that Malaysian teenage girls are most likely involved in keeping the environment clean
while the teenage boys were found to have better environmental awareness as compared to the
Indians and Malay. Generally, the overall awareness of the teenagers concerning solid waste
management is low especially those who are studying art when compared to those studying
social sciences.

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The Malaysian authorities and the non-governmental organizations should improve the
municipal waste management. Environmental attitudes and behaviors are highly influenced by
the level of education. Education of the public differs as a result of differences in the location of
people, socio-economic factors and type of waste that needs to be managed. Any public
education should put into account the above-mentioned factors for maximum effectiveness. The
decision to use a certain type of education should be tailored to certain individuals in society so
that education becomes useful and effective (Mohamed & Lee, 2014, p. 154). Policies should be
instilled so as to focus on the promotion of knowledge concerning friendly environmental waste
management.
Prevention and Maintenance of Waste
Prevention of waste is the preferred form of managing waste. Confusion comes in when
the public believes that prevention and maintenance are forms of recycling waste. There exist
two methods of reducing waste which include; reduction of the waste generated and adoption of
the effective system for the management of the unavoidable forms of waste (Noor, Yusuf, &
Abba, 2015, p. 143). Since prevention of waste is the most effective method of managing solid
waste, it is advisable to give prevention the first priority in MSW.
Recycling Of Waste
The lowest hierarchy in the recovery of products is recycling. The implementation of
recycling waste is a way of reducing waste but not effective move in the long run (Mohamed &
Lee, 2014, p. 45). This is a cheaper and more reliable method of solid waste management than
using the landfills and has limited barriers.

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Recovery of Energy from MSW
Energy is a basic need for human beings the primary source of energy for the people of
Malaysia in 2014 was crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas and coke among few others.
Due to the increased economic and industrial growth, Malaysia needs more and more energy.
Petroleum and natural gas are the primary sources of energy in the country since the collapse of
the tin market three decades ago. The oil and gas reserves in Malaysia are said to be depleting
and this could have severe impacts on the energy sectors. Besides the depletion, Malaysia is
required to increase the prices of oil so as to cater for the increased change the effects of these
non-renewable sources of energy have has severe effects on our bodies in Malaysia (Fauziah &
Simon, 2017, p. 43). The country needs to strategize on ways of tapping the energy with the
limited use of the non-renewable sources of energy. The discovery that economic development in
Malaysia is entirely dependent on stable sources, there should be an investigation of other
sources of energy .the conversion of MSW to bioenergy is an important factor that needs to be
considered. Bioenergy is advantageous since it solves the problem of MSW. It is also important
since it fulfills the problem of energy demand in the form of liquid and gaseous fuels. Bioenergy
is also important since it improves soil fertility, improves barren or the lands that have been
degraded for long and also helps in water retention (Johari, Ahmed, & Hashim, 2017, p. 154).
Through the conversion of MSW to biogas, the government of Malaysia will have reduced the
volume of wastes in the landfills and also lead to the diversification of the energy sources. MSW
from the Malaysian landfills contains high volumes of organic substances which can potentially
be converted to bio hydrogen and bioethanol from MSW. This will yield high volumes of energy
which can be used in industries to suffice the other forms of energy.

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Improvement of the Landfills System
Research shows that on average, the government of Malaysian spends RM0.07 for every
kilogram of waste. With an aim of providing resources to sustain commendable landfill
practices, revision on tipping charges should be done since for many businesses, sending their
wastes to the landfills is still the cheapest option that the businesses have. The table below shows
different tipping charges for several country landfills. There should be increased charges for the
industries on their waste disposal so that there is minimization on the creation of waste (Noor,
Yusuf, & Abba, 2015, p. 24).
(Kadir & Yin, 2014, p.
34).
Due to the usage of the landfill method in Malaysia, the quality of river water is
definitely going to be affected by leachate. The effects of leachate on the river water would be
determined by monitoring the chemistry of river water and also assessing the dangers of
contamination of the water. The department of the environment should be so much vigilant in
monitoring the quality of water and air. Major rivers in the country are monitored from
approximately 183 monitoring stations and there are a total of 230 sampling stations in the
coastal region which are aimed at ensuring that there is quality in the marine environment. With

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the aim of reducing environmental impacts on the open landfills, there should be an upgrade of
the open landfills and also the sanitary fills (Tan , Ho , & Hashim, 2016, p. 25). There should be
open landfills that have measures to control gas, treat leachate, apply soil cover on the solid
wastes and implement plans after the landfill is closed so as to have the waste decomposing
without disturbance to the immediate environment. The sanitary fills should also manage the
MSW in Malaysia. Open dumping does not have some features like no leachate system of
management, Geo-membrane system of management at the bottom of the landfill and clay-lined
coating, perimeter control and gaseous exchange migration among others. Traditional landfills
bring along several problems including closed landfills, generation of leachate and continuous
production of landfill gas.
The Role of NGO’s
The government cannot manage to handle the waste alone. Governmental and non-
governmental organizations should work in collaboration so as to formulate and spread
educational strategies so as to sensitize the public on environmental conservation. The private
organizations should partner with the government so as to develop comprehensive programs for
the management of solid waste. The success of the private sector lies in the hands of the
municipal administrator who is responsible for writing and enforcing effective contracts
(Mohamed & Lee, 2014, p. 135). The community based solid waste management is also
important especially in the areas that are not serviced. The latter would heavily rely on the
community members to manage waste including collection and conveyance to the landfills.
Prevention and management of MSW should be at the top of the authorities’ plans. Landfilling
should be considered the last option if all the other methods of MSW fail.to develop

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comprehensive waste management, all sectors should work together in harmony so as to improve
environmental awareness. Collective effort is vital to the successful management of waste.
Conclusion
Malaysia has been experiencing vigorous industrialization in the recent past. The
industrialization has come along with an increased generation of changes in MSW. There is a
need to come up with a sustainable system that is available to industries to manage their wastes
effectively. The community should also be taught on the management of solid wastes. However,
data on Malaysian MSW is so much limited. The most preferred type of municipal solid waste
treatment is the use of landfills. The method of landfills has adverse effects on the environment.
There should be proper training conducted for the operators to handle the equipment in
the management of the wastes. The government also needs to allocate funds for the management
of MSW because most of the landfills in Asia are idle as a result of ignorance from the
government to train operators.to ensure that there is sustainable development in Malaysia to
achieving its goal of being a developed country by 2020, the environmental awareness should be
given priory and there should be continuous programs planned before the implementation of any
action.

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