According to Datuk Ahmad Husaini Abdul Rahman, chief executive officer of Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), Malaysia could have saved RM291 million this year if it had recycled items instead of just throwing them out.
According to him, almost a tonne of recyclable materials were disposed of this year, as reported by The Star today.
Out of the 35.38 percent national recycling rate, 6.96 percent of the goods discarded are included in this amount.
“The estimated value of the waste that should have been recycled is RM291 million, assuming the average price of recycled waste is 30 sen per kilogram (kg),” he said to The Star.
Malaysia could have saved RM291 million this year if it had recycled items instead of just throwing them out, according to Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Husaini Abdul Rahman.
He said nearly one tonne of goods that could have been recycled were binned this year, The Star reported today.
The amount of discarded goods comes to 6.96 per cent out of 35.38 per cent of the national recycling rate.
“Assuming the average price of recycled waste is 30 sen per kilogram (kg), then the estimated value of the waste that should have been recycled is RM291 million,” he told The Star.
He said there were four types of goods that can be recycled and can add to the national revenue, listing them as plastic, paper, metal and Tektra pak – which comprises paper, polyethylene and aluminium used in food packaging.
Citing data from SWCorp’s 2022 Solid Waste Composition Study, The Star reported that plastic (22 per cent) and paper (15 per cent) made up the bulk of waste at 26 landfills that weighed in at 3.18 kilotonne.
Plastic, valued at a minimum market rate of 10 sen per kg, could contribute nearly RM70 million to the national income, while paper had the potential to generate over RM47 million.
Tetra pak, which costs five sen per kg, could have made RM3 million, while metal, which accounted for 2% of recyclable materials in landfills, could have made over RM25 million at a minimum market rate of 40 sen per kg.
Citing data from the National Solid Waste Management Department’s 2012 Survey on Solid Waste Composition, Characteristics, and Current Practice of Recycling in Malaysia, Ahmad Husaini stated that 42.34 percent of goods have the potential to be recycled.
According to him, 42.32% is determined by the recycling technologies that are currently in use in the country.
However, Ahmad Husaini also noted that during the previous eight years, the national recycling rate has increased, going from 15.7% in 2015 to 35.38 percent.
This demonstrates that SWCorp’s programs have had a positive effect and that people are becoming more conscious of recycling in their daily lives.
But SWCorp can’t afford to relax. To guarantee that Malaysia reaches the 40% national recycling rate by 2025, community recycling initiatives will be stepped up, he was cited as saying.
He said that in order to accomplish that, solid waste separation activities at source, or SAS for short, must be mandated by all states.
He stated that the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) is currently only in effect in the seven states that have ratified SAS.
They are the Federal Territories; Johor; Melaka; Negeri Sembilan; Pahang; Kedah; Perlis; and Kedah.
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
“The enforcement of this regulation in all states in Malaysia would certainly obligate the community to carry out waste segregation, as well as recycling activities,” Ahmad Husaini was quoted as saying.
