KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is considering designating busy spots in the city as zero-waste zones as part of a bigger effort to reduce waste and make the capital more environmentally friendly.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa said tourist hotspots were among areas to be considered under the initiative.
“We have yet to go through the details,” she said.
“We will discuss this with stakeholders, including community leaders, industry players and traders associations before coming up with the mechanism.”
Dr Zaliha said this after launching the 70-page Kuala Lumpur Towards Zero Waste 2040 Roadmap at DBKL headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.
The document will serve as a framework for planning and long-term action to address waste management in the city.
It was developed by DBKL based on analysis of existing policies and at local, national and international levels with input from stakeholders.
The roadmap aims to reduce waste by 60%, comprising 20% organic and 40% inorganic waste, by 2040.
Dr Zaliha also urged DBKL to consider introducing green community certifications and fiscal incentives for commercial premises to adopt green practices.
In her speech at the launch, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the roadmap marked a shift from a linear system focused on using and disposing, to a circular economy emphasising on reducing, separating and recycling.
“Kuala Lumpur generates up to 2,300 tonnes of wastes daily, and some RM260mil is spent annually to deal with it.
“This is unsustainable and calls for a change in how we approach waste management,” she said.
Separately, Dr Zaliha said Malaysia recently became the first non-European country to be accepted into the Davos Baukultur Alliance, a global initiative by the World Economic Forum aimed at promoting sustainable and culturally sensitive approaches to developing cities.
She added that Kuala Lumpur had been named one of the pioneering cities in the initiative.
Dr Zaliha recently delivered a speech in Venice, Italy, on how the city-planning approach currently practised in Kuala Lumpur was in line with the principles advocated by Davos Baukultur.
Present at the launch were Federal Territories Department director-general (planning and development) Datuk Ramlee Yatim, Bandar Tun Razak MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Wangsa Maju MP Zahir Hassan.
