Malaysia, an upper-middle class country, populated with approximately 31 million people generated nearly 13.9 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) at per capita of 1.23 kilogram per day in 2016. Landfills and open dumps, being the absolute opposite of sustainable waste management, received about 80% of this generated MSW. Waste collection is on a par with developed nations, and almost all urban MSW is being collected for disposal. However, illegal dumping still occurs sporadically, and it can account for 10% of the total MSW generated. Hence, Malaysia is facing a stiff challenge in reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and adopting sustainable waste management. National Solid Waste Management Department of Malaysia targets to divert 40% of MSW from landfills by 2020. There are total 296 landfills in Malaysia, and only 165 landfills are currently functional whereas the number of sanitary landfills is 8 out of 165 operating landfills. The national recycling rate of MSW was 17% in 2016 and the national recycling target in 11th Malaysian Plan is 22% by 2020.
TopCountry Situation
The federation of Malaysia practices a form of constitutional monarchy, and is situated in South East Asia (Figure 1). The number of states and federal territories that constitute Malaysia are 13 and 3, respectively (Figure 2). The total landmass of Malaysia is 329,847 square kilometres where Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak states) are separated by South China Sea. Malaysian population in 2017 was 32 million (Department of Statistics, 2018) and the official religion of the country is Islam. Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia. The government system in Malaysia is highly based on Westminster parliamentary system, since Malaysia was ruled by British empire before independence. While Malaysia still has a King or commonly known as Yang di-Pertuan Agong to head the country, its executive powers lie with Prime Minister of the cabinet. The economy of Malaysia was predominantly based on agriculture before 1970s, followed by a transition to multi-sector economy until 1980s and industrial sector leading the national economy since then.
Figure 1. Map of south east Asia region (United Nations, 2012)
Figure 2. States of Malaysia (UNCRD, 2017)
TopWaste Definition
According to Malaysian regulation, Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 627), and Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Act 2007, solid waste is defined as:
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Any by-product i.e. scrap material, rejected products or unwanted surplus material that results from a process.
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Any material that is broken, spoiled, contaminated or worn out and thus needs to be disposed of.
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Any other substance that according to abovementioned law or any other written law demands the authority to dispose of, but it does not come under Act 127 as scheduled waste, or under Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655) as sewage or under Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304) as radioactive waste.
Solid waste can be classified into municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste, hazardous waste, agricultural waste and electronic waste (E-waste).
Municipal Solid Waste
MSW is also defined as solid waste as aforementioned. It includes imported solid waste, public solid waste, institutional solid waste, household solid waste, and special waste arising from construction, commercial and controlled activities (Malaysian Waste Management Report, 2010).
Biomass
The definition of biomass is variable but some of the widely agreed definitions at International and European level are given below:
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According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), non-fossil component of municipal or industrial waste is called Biomass.
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Whereas, Biomass is characterized as any plant matter that can be utilized as fuel or transformed into other products before consumption, by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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Waste Framework Directive of European Union defines Bio-waste as biodegradable park and garden waste, kitchen and food waste from restaurants, caterers, households, comparable waste from food processing plants, and retail premises.
Industrial Waste
Under Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 672, 2007, Industrial waste is referred to solid waste that is generated from all industrial activities. Thus, industrial waste may include ashes, rubbish, demolition and construction waste, as well as, hazardous and special waste.