KUALA LUMPUR: Over 13,000 tonnes of food is thrown away by Malaysians every month, says Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (pic).
"It is a huge challenge dealing with solid waste with almost 38,000 tonnes thrown away each month in the country.
"Of this total, about 45% is solid food waste," the Housing and Local Government Minister said in reply to Che Alias Hamid (PN-Kemaman) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Aug 3).
"This problem is not confined to Malaysia as it also happens in other Asean countries such as Indonesia where over 60% of waste is solid food waste, 55% in the Philippines and 64% in Thailand," he added.
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Reezal Merican said a study by the Future Institute in Australia revealed that some 80% of solid food waste was considered edible.
Datuk Johari Abdul (PH-Sungai Petani) asked if there were plans to amend local council by-laws for edible food waste from fast food outlets and hotels to be channelled to Members of Parliament (MP) for distribution to the poor in their constituencies.
Johari said such outlets and hotels appeared reluctant to let MPs distribute their food waste for fear they would run afoul of the law.
Reezal Merican said distribution of edible food waste to the needy was currently being done in Penang and Selangor.
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"I visit the hypermarkets in my constituency to seek food items which could be distributed," the Kepala Batas MP added.
However, Reezal Merican acknowledged that there were constraints in solid waste management and in fully promoting the recycling of solid waste under the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672).
He said only seven states and territories had adopted Act 672.
"Also, implementation is restricted to households and industries, the commercial sector, the construction sector and institutions in the states which have adopted the Act.
"The Act does not cover all food manufacturers or the food industry as a whole," he added.
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Those that adopted Act 672 are Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak as well as the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
On solid waste management, Reezal Merican said two companies had come forward to submit proposals to convert solid waste to biomass for commercial purposes.
