PETALING JAYA: Sustainable waste management presents promising opportunities in Malaysia, as the country aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in line with its ambition to achieve net-zero by 2050.
In its report, Kenanga Research said other than waste management, the other three areas that present opportunities in a circular economy are manufacturing, packaging materials and biomass.
“It is estimated that Malaysia is generating over 40,000 tonnes of waste per day, which is equivalent to about 1.2kg per person.
“The amount of waste generated has been growing steadily over the years in tandem with economic and population growth, and the country is expected to throw away 19 million tonnes of waste by 2050 from 14 million tonnes as at 2021,” it pointed out.
Citing the Waste Management Association of Malaysia, Kenanga Research noted that at the current rate, the country risked running out of space for landfills by 2050 as some 82% of its waste were sent to landfills nationwide based on 2021 data.
“The first step in reducing waste is to separate waste into recyclable and non-recyclable material thus reducing the amount that will be sent to landfills, and recycling is key in achieving that goal (reducing methane gas emissions in line with the 2050 net-zero target),” it said.
It added that out of the 820,217 tonnes of waste produced in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya in 2022, only 0.2% of the waste was separated at source.
“On a brighter note, the recycling rate in Malaysia has been steadily improving over the years (from 21% in 2017 to 33.2% in 2022) with many programmes and activities initiated by corporates in collaboration with various non-governmental organisations.”
It was recently announced that the national recycling rate (NRR) for 2023 rose to 35.38%, surpassing this year’s target of 35% with the amount of recycled goods touching 4.933m tonnes.
If the momentum can be maintained, the country is on track to reach the goal of 40% NRR by 2025 as stated in the 12th Malaysia Plan, added Kenanga Research.
The research firm said converting waste to energy (WtE) is one way to reduce the dependency on landfills, cut the volume of waste while conserving land for development. WtE plants are gaining attention as renewable energy sources especially since the opening of Malaysia’s largest landfill gas-powered plant in Bukit Tagar Enviro Park, Hulu Selangor.
According to the research firm, the government planned to have a WtE plant in every state by 2035 in line with the energy transition roadmap.
Meanwhile, Kenanga Research noted that Cypark Resources Bhd
was also in a good position to reap the opportunities in the circular economy, given its involvement in turning waste to electricity.
Cypark’s WtE plant in Ladang Tanah Merah, Port Dickson, with a 20 megawatt capacity, began operations in December 2022.
