The Selangor Recycling (SelKitar) programme will be expanded to residential strata properties next year.
Selangor public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the SelKitar pilot programme had been implemented in phases since it was first introduced in May 2025.
“Phase one saw more than 6.3 million kg of recyclables collected over the past year, covering more than 380,000 houses across the nine districts and 12 local authorities in Selangor,” she said.
“Following that, the Selangor government is looking into expanding the next phase of SelKitar next year to more locations, including residential strata properties.”
She said the structured implementation of the programme had allowed the state government to access data and statistics on the initiative, such as participation rate and challenges faced.
“It will also give us the insight needed to assess the cost and implications of adopting the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) in Selangor,” said Jamaliah.
Among others, Act 672 mandates waste separation at source.
While funding for the pilot project came from her office’s environment portfolio, Jamaliah said its full implementation and funding would eventually be under Datuk Ng Suee Lim’s local government portfolio, which also oversees waste management.
She was speaking during the launch of SelKitar Walk which involved the distribution of promotional materials to residents in Serenia City, Sepang, as part of the programme’s public awareness and education efforts.
Present were KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) managing director Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir, Nestle Malaysia head of sustainability Tan Cheow Yam, Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) deputy president Mohd Faizal Abdul Raji and Sime Darby Property business unit head 3 Hazlan Husin.
SelKitar is a door-to-door household recycling programme by the Selangor government and KDEBWM in partnership with Nestle.
Its first phase involved selected housing areas under MPSepang and Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) before being expanded to other Selangor local authorities in October 2025.
Participating households must separate their dry and mixed recyclables and place them in front of their house on scheduled collection days to be picked up.
Jamaliah observed that areas with higher rates of participation came from those with strong community engagement, such as active residents’ associations that use WhatsApp to share feedback and update collection schedules.
She said SelKitar’s implementation in Serenia City, which is scheduled to start next month, is significant as the township is the last location for phase one.
The addition of 2,518 households in nine housing areas here would bring the total number of participating houses to 29,039 in areas under MPSepang’s purview.
“Since SelKitar phase one focuses only on landed houses, we anticipate different challenges for phase two when it is expanded to strata properties,” said Jamaliah.
“We are tapping into Nestle’s insight for this, as they have some experience implementing recycling programmes in some Kuala Lumpur stratified properties.”
Based on their experience, Tan shared that some of the challenges included having a dedicated space within a high-rise building for recycling activities and educating residents on the programme’s importance and mechanics.
“We needed to work closely with the building’s joint management bodies and create awareness on how to separate recyclable materials,” she said.
Ramli said SelKitar allows for insight into recycling rates by area and whether the average 7,500 tonnes of solid waste generated daily by Selangor’s 7.5 million population could be reduced through recycling.
Other activities during the event included an interactive education pavilion by Nestle, recycled materials upcycling demonstrations by ImpactLution and an eco-printed product exhibition by Universiti Putra Malaysia.
