Embracing circular economy approach to solid waste

PETALING JAYA: The Housing and Local Government Ministry is embracing the circular economy approach to manage solid waste.

Towards this end, the ministry has drawn up a five-year plan from 2021 to 2025 to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable circular economy model in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“The ministry is currently actively drafting a solid waste management policy that is more comprehensive in order to drive the transition towards the circular economy model.

“Planning to develop these circular economy policies are not only limited to the states that have adopted Act 672, but will also consider the nationwide implementation of the circular economy, including Sabah and Sarawak,” the ministry told The Star.

Under this five-year plan, initiatives that have been planned and are being implemented include developing a Circular Economy Blueprint for Solid Waste; developing waste eco park development guidelines for developers, state authorities and local government; as well as developing an integrated solid waste management facility equipped with material recovery facility, waste-to-energy (WtE) plants, anaerobic digestion, composting machine, and sanitary solid waste disposal sites.

The ministry has also recently set up a National Circular Economy Council to coordinate the implementation of the circular economy holistically across ministries, departments, state governments, local governments and the private sector, it said.

Extended Producer Responsibility, an approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle, is also another initiative planned.

Meanwhile, the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), which is an agency under the ministry, is also actively working to strengthen the solid waste management and disposal system at the national level through measures such as implementing WtE projects.

WtE plants can reduce dependence on landfills and minimise the need for land as waste disposal sites, said the ministry.

A new WtE plant in Ladang Tanah Merah, Negri Sembilan, is now operational, while other WtE projects in the offing include Johor’s Bukit Payong and Melaka’s Sungai Udang.

SWCorp, as the monitoring agency, also plans for the construction of new sanitary landfills, while properly closing all open landfills which have reached full capacity.

Sanitary landfills refer to disposal sites with technology for treating leachate from solid waste before the treated wastewater is discharged into the environment, in accordance with prevailing water quality standards.

According to the ministry’s selected statistics up to Sept 30, 2022, there were 142 disposal sites in operation, while another 174 have closed.

Of the 142 in operation, only 21 were classified as sanitary.