INGENIEUR
Figure 1: Percentage Composition of Plastic Waste Generated Based on Different Sectors in
Malaysia, Survey on Solid Waste Composition, Characteristics and Existing Practice of Solid Waste
Recycling in Malaysia, Final Report by JPSPN, 2013
matters. Since September 1, 2011, SWCorp has
been responsible for enforcing the Solid Waste
and Public Cleansing Management Act, 2007
(Act 672) and regulations relating to solid waste
management services and public cleansing in
states that have adopted the Act. SWCorp’s role is
to ensure management services of solid waste and
public cleaning are more efficient and integrated
while providing optimal satisfaction to the
community in terms of solid waste management
and public cleaning services [6].
Plastic waste is categorised under controlled
solid residue and subject to the hierarchy of
solid waste management which includes proper
disposal, treatment, recycle, reuse and reduce.
To ensure the best practices of plastic waste
management being adopted, we need to be clear
on the value chain of plastic waste within the
country. Based on the report, Survey on Solid
Waste Composition, Characteristics and Existing
Practice of Solid Waste Recycling in Malaysia
(JPSPN, 2013), the majority of the plastic wastes
generated is from the industrial sector, which
makes up 39.1% from the total waste as shown in
Figure 1. This is followed by the commercial sector,
which includes commercial buildings, hotels and
restaurants with 23.2% and 21.8% respectively
and 13.2% from the households. The lowest
contributor is from the construction site at only 1%.
To date, Malaysia is still using the data obtained in
this 2013 report as a reference to determine the
composition of the institutional, commercial and
industrial plastic residues because of the difficulty
of obtaining annual input from relevant parties.
In light of the increasing plastic waste
generated within several sectors, the Government
has started to implement active measures,
including promoting recycling activities. Figure 2
shows the national recycling rate for solid waste,
including plastics from 2005-2018. In 2005,
the recycling rate was only 5% and increased to
10.5% in 2013. The recycling rate has shown a
steady increase throughout the years. However,
this improvement is slower compared to other
developing countries. KPKT has set a target
recycling rate for 2020 at 30% with at least an
increment of 3% per annum.
The Separation at Source (SAS) Programme
is one of the Government’s initiatives to reduce
the number of recyclable materials sent to the
landfill. This constructive effort, introduced in
September 2015, demonstrated positive impact
48 VOL 82 APRIL-JUNE 2020