MalayMail-March 3
When it comes to waste and recycling, those who grew up in the 1990s will remember this familiar tune: “Recycle, yes it’s true, Recycle, that’s the thing to do, Recycle, state your case, Don’t let it go to waste.” This jingle accompanied a recycling campaign launched in the ‘90s. The song is no longer played today, but has Malaysia made progress in recycling over the years? According to Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming, significant progress has been made only since 2015, when waste separation became mandatory under the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007. He said the national recycling rate more than doubled from 15.7 per cent to 35.38 per cent in 2023. However, this still falls short of the government’s 40 per cent target by 2025. As of today, Malaysians generate 39,078 tons of waste daily — the equivalent of 25 Petronas Twin Towers worth of trash. To put this into perspective, it would take 3,908 trucks to transport the country’s daily waste, forming a single line stretching over 52km. The idea of nationwide recycling first emerged in 1988, when the then-Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) drafted the Action Plan for a Beautiful and Clean Malaysia. This was followed by the launch of Malaysia’s first National Recycling Program(NRP) in 1993, involving 23 local councils. The program saw some success in Petaling Jaya, Melaka, and Kuching, but failed to take off in other areas due to a lack of market demand for recyclables, poor collection services, and the absence of a policy framework and master plan for recycling. As a result, the government relaunched the NRP in 2000. In September 2015, waste separation was made mandatory in selected states, including Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Melaka, Pahang, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, and Perlis. Later, in 2021, the government introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which requires manufacturers to bear the cost of managing and recycling packaging waste generated throughout a product’s lifecycle. By 2026, Malaysia will enforce a mandatory EPR scheme. Read more at:
