SELANGOR Recycling (SELKitar), a collaborative door-to-door recyclable waste collection programme between the state government and the private sector introduced in April, is set to be expanded to 11 of the 12 local authorities in the state by the end of this year.
In the latest phase of expansion which began in October, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the programme will be expanded to Sepang, Kuala Langat, Kuala Selangor, Kajang, Ampang Jaya, Selayang and Hulu Selangor.
"The initiative has already been implemented in Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and Klang before this, involving KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM), Nestle Malaysia and Klang Wastecare.
"Sabak Bernam is excluded from the initiative for now due to its low waste count, but we will expand there in phases.
"For now, a total of 412,812 households are involved in the initiative, with a total of 77,022kg of recyclable waste being collected as of Oct 31," he said when launching SELKitar at Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam on Tuesday (Nov 25).
He also said SELKitar has successfully increased the overall recycling rate in the state from 12% to more than 16%.
"This has surpassed the targeted recycling rate of 15% by 2025 under the First Selangor Plan.
"Starting next year, the state will roll out more incentives to attract more parties to join SELKitar's implementation. We will continue working to make the recycling rate in Selangor even higher," he added.
The state will also study methods to better manage e-waste, which have higher value but are more harmful towards the environment, according to Amirudin.
Also present were Selangor public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin and local government and tourism committee chairman Datuk Ng Suee Lim.
Jamaliah said SELKitar could help prepare Selangor to adopt the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) by allowing the state government to collect data and study how recycling programmes can be implemented in the state.
"Through SELKitar, we can get to know clearly how much allocation we need to run recycling programmes as well as the reception on the ground," she said.
She also said the state government will provide a special plastic bag to every household involved in SELKitar for the first two months.
"The residents only need to put the plastic bag filled with recyclable waste in front of their houses on the scheduled collection days.
"SELKitar provides convenience for the residents as they only need to separate between recyclable and non-recyclable waste. They also don't need to send the recyclable waste to recycling centres as door-to-door collection is provided," she said.
Plastic, cardboards, used beverage cartons, paper and metal are accepted for recycling, according to a brochure by KDEBWM about SELKitar.
During the ceremony, Amirudin, Jamaliah and Ng also flagged off some SELKitar trucks as part of the launch gimmick.
A total of 21 trucks is allocated for waste collection under SELKitar, according to Jamaliah.
