[MUSIC PLAYING]
ZAINURA ZAINON NOOR: trash, rubbish,
or municipal solid waste-- does not
make any difference what we call it.
The fact remains that same.
We produce huge amounts of it, and it
takes an enormous amount of every community's resources
to deal with it.
Cities are at the nexus of a deeper threat
to the environment, namely the production
of increasing quantity and complexity of waste.
In general, urban residents generate
two to three times more solid waste
than their fellow rural citizens.
Globally, the daily waste generation in urban areas
is about 760,000 tons and is expected
to sharply increase to 1.8 million tons per day
by the year 2025.
Municipal solid waste especially,
generated in the cities, is the most complex solid waste
stream, as opposed to more homogeneous
waste streams resulting from industrial or agricultural
activities.
The list of the top 10 countries that
generate the largest amount of municipal solid waste
includes four developing nations-- namely,
Brazil, China, India, and Mexico.
This is mainly due to the size of their growing
urban population.
Furthermore, their city dwellers are prospering and adopting
high-consumption lifestyles.
Urbanization and income levels also
tend to determine the type of waste generated.
The share of inorganic materials in the waste stream,
such as plastics, paper, and aluminum,
also tends to increase as people grow wealthier
and move to the cities.
Cities' authorities which are responsible for urban waste
management are struggling with the accelerated
pace of waste production in their jurisdiction.
More than 50% of the collected waste
is often disposed through unsanitary land-filling,
and about 15% is processed through unsafe and informal
recycling.
Improper solid waste disposal in cities
impairs human health and causes economy, environmental,
and biological losses.
In [INAUDIBLE] or unsanitary landfills,
leachate, which is the fluid emerges from the waste,
can seep into the ground and may contaminate both the soil
and the groundwater, posing substantial health hazards
to any nearby communities.
The common three R's are reduce, reuse, and recycling.
In order to be sustainable in the long run,
solid waste management must start
with reducing consumption, followed by reuse and lastly,
recycle.
Reducing consumption will require
a dramatic cultural shift and behavior change,
which may take a long time.
Therefore, in addition to presenting awareness campaigns
on the importance of consuming less and re-using more,
cities should also adopt strong recycling programs.
Recycling is a process of turning materials
that would otherwise become waste
into valuable resources of financial, environmental, and
social returns.
With emphasis on urban and peri-urban areas,
recycling is viewed as a sustainable means
of diverting maximum fractions of municipal solid waste
from landfill disposal, since the waste generated
in this area contains substantially
less organic portion compared to rural areas.
The benefits of recycling go far beyond just
saving landfill space.
It provides a source of valuable raw materials.
Multiple markets exist for papers, plastic, glass, metals,
and other materials.
Although collecting and selling these materials
will not make a profit for the community,
it may reduce the community's waste management cost
by creating a revenue stream from waste.
Recycling undoubtedly saves resources.
One ton of recycled newspaper saved
the equivalent of 17 trees, two barrels of oil,
and 41,000 kilowatt hours of energy.
One ton of recycled plastic saved
5,774 kilowatt hours of energy and 16.3 barrels of oil.
And one ton of recycled aluminum saved
14,000 kilowatt hours of energy and 40 barrels of oil.
Apart from conserving resources and creating revenues
from waste stream, recycling also
provides new jobs and economy development potential.
A well-managed recycling program provides employment
for people who have difficulty finding work in other places.
In Malaysia, 64% of the overall waste composition
is dominated by municipal solid waste.
Out of this, 80% are recyclables.
Plastics are probably the most common recyclable material
with high potential for recycling in Malaysia,
since this material is widely used
and part of a modern lifestyle in urbanized areas.
Growth rates in Malaysia plastic industries
reached an average of 15% for the past 11 years,
indicating a high demand for this material in the country.
Recycling should be greatly emphasized,
especially at the most basic level of community,
which is the household unit.
Households are the highest contributor
among the municipal solid waste sources in Malaysia.
Although households in Malaysia, as well as around the world,
will need to significantly reduce the consumption
rate, and subsequently their waste generation,
in the short-term context, proper recycling
can lead to a substantial reduction in terms
of waste sent to landfill.
Malaysia aims to be a developing country by year 2020,
and among other measures has set a target of achieving
a recycling rate of 22%.
However, its recycling rate was 5% in 2002
and only increased slightly to 5.5% in 2006 and 2008.
Compared to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia,
this is far too low.
Singapore, for example, has a recycling rate of 56%,
and the Philippines is at 12%.
So what are some of the underlying reasons
for this shortfall?
In Malaysia, municipal solid waste
is managed by the National Solid Waste Management Department
under the Ministry of Urban Well-Being, Housing,
and Local Government.
Recently, the ministry formulated the Solid Waste
and Public Cleansing Management Act, SWPCM 2007,
which includes the promotion of waste minimization
through the three R's activities.
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
Although the enactment of SWPCM Act 2007 has provided
legislative empowerment to the Malaysian government,
it cannot be fully enforced and implemented due to the lack
of other supporting regulation.
In several major cities in which the two-plus-one system
of collection has started, implementation is not smooth.
Majority of households are not fully aware of the collection
schedule.
Furthermore, separate bin for recyclable is not provided.
Due to these reasons, many households
are quite reluctant to actively participate
in the recycling program.
Despite the mandatory [INAUDIBLE]
of household waste under the act,
the implementation has been weak.
Fines are yet to be imposed on households that do not
separate their waste at source.
Another major challenge in promoting recycling activities
in Malaysia is related to the lack of public support.
Despite numerous public awareness
and campaigns throughout the years,
public responses to recycling activities
are still at a very low stage.
I think definitely it's to do with awareness.
We have done a lot of work-- I'm sure the government has
done the same thing for local.
But I think awareness is critical,
mainly because we are a society that is so used to-- just let
somebody else deal with it.
We do a lot of complaining.
IE, when we see rubbish on the ground in the [INAUDIBLE]
business like that, we complain.
Why isn't the authority doing something about it,
that kind of thing.
But we never think that it is our responsibility that we
should be doing ourselves.
So it is a point where being aware of it
and taking responsibility and going in there
and digging it up and putting it in a rubbish bin [INAUDIBLE].
So awareness is critical to doing that.
Although most households understand
the need for sustainable development,
this level of awareness does not always translate to actions.
In many cases, the households that do recycle
are motivated by financial gain rather
than feeling a sense of responsibility
in reducing their waste in order to conserve their resources
and environment.
Several approaches can be implemented
towards achieving the desired goals of recycling
community in Malaysia's cities.
Current scenario has suggested that there
are policies and facilities in place,
but they are not comprehensive enough
to contribute to an effective recycling program.
Providing separate bins for recyclables
and ensuring households are aware of the two [INAUDIBLE]
schedule may prove to be among the best, yet simple, approach
to encourage people to participate actively
in the recycling activities.
Moreover, proper collection points, systematic collection,
and processing of recyclable need to be established.
For this to happen, all relevant stakeholders-- namely,
the federal and municipal governments,
concessionaires, traders, recycling center operators,
and NGOs-- must coordinate their efforts.
Strong enforcement of SWPCM Act 2007
is another critical factor.
Strategies such as imposing fees on households
that are not segregating their waste should be considered.
Households may find this approach to be taxing at first,
but they will be encouraged to recycle.
At the same time, the role of financial reward
among households should not be overlooked.
Rewards such as rebates and incentives
should be utilized to encourage recycling until the habit can
be sustained.
However, despite having financial and regulatory tools
as the principal instrument for driving change in behavior,
the effectiveness of the tools is
strongly dependent on reflecting--
reshaping attitudes, motivations,
and norms within a community.
There is still a long way towards achieving
the 22% recycling rate by 2020 in Malaysia,
and it remains unclear whether or not
the ambitious goal can be met.
However, if the proposed strategies addressing
the barriers can be carried out effectively,
there is a high possibility for successful implementation
of sustainable solid waste management in the country.
[MUSIC PLAYING]