Reducing the landfills with WTE plants

PETALING JAYA: Every day, garbage trucks in Malaysia dump some 38,000 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) at dumpsites around the country.

Food waste is the biggest component, followed by plastic, paper, mixed organics, wood and others.

There are 165 landfills, eight sanitary landfills and three inert landfills for materials such as sand and concrete – and all are running out of space.

Several agencies and environmental activists, including Alam Flora and Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation, are warning that no space will be available for landfills by 2050 if nothing is done to reduce waste.

The answer could lie in waste to energy (WTE) plants.

Experts interviewed by Bernama saw the potential to include WTE as part of the renewable energy (RE) generation.

Prof Dr Mohd Rashid Mohd Yusof of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Malaysian-Japan International Institute of Technology said the time has come for Malaysia to change its solid waste disposal approach to WTE technology as it is also renewable energy.

“Compared with solar energy which requires lots of open spaces and hydrogen fuel, which is expensive and not economically feasible, WTE is the best option for the national RE target,” the head of Air Resources Research Laboratory told Bernama.

He said WTE plants would complement fossil fuel power generation plants.

“Waste generation is increasing on a yearly basis, thus WTE will be the best solution for waste disposal, along with energy generation.”

Among the advantages of WTE is that its footprint is small compared to solar energy.

It’s also safe and reliable and can operate in any weather conditions, reduce waste volume by more than 90%, reduce the load on landfill and produce stable and odour-free residue.

Eco-Ideal Consulting Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Soon Hun Yang said recycling practices and WTE can co-exist as proven in many developed countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Japan and Taiwan.

“Basically, if we can recycle our food waste separately, we will be able to reduce the moisture issue and make WTE more viable and attractive due to higher burning potential.

“Successful strategies also include charging higher fees for burning, prohibiting (trash from going to) landfills and free recycling – this will make recycling the first preferable option.”

Soon, who is also a certified International Solid Waste Association waste manager, said WTE is definitely an alternative technological option for Malaysia after all efforts in waste minimisation and recycling are undertaken, especially in densely populated areas.

“However, the initial cost would need to be budgeted for. The government will need to convince the anti-WTE group to accept WTE as a modern and safe waste treatment facility which does not harm the environment,” he said.

According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, WTE facilities can substantially contribute toward Malaysia becoming a zero-waste nation.

The Local Government Development Ministry plans to build six WTE plants across the nation by 2025.

At present, a plant in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, started operations in June 2019.

Others in the pipeline are in Sungai Udang, Melaka; Bukit Payung, Terengganu; Seelong, Johor; Samling, Selangor; and Jabor, Pahang.

These are part of the country’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Malaysia’s current RE capacity level is at 25% and it targets to hit 40% by 2035.