PUTRAJAYA: The Housing and Local Government Ministry has set two key objectives for the 2026 Malaysia Cleanup Day (HCM) to involve the participation of 200,000 people and collect 28 tonnes of recyclable materials.
Its minister Nga Kor Ming said the two targets were set to create two new marks in the Malaysia Book of Records through the HCM, which will be held simultaneously nationwide on Sept 25.
To boost participation, he said the ministry would collaborate with the Education Ministry to involve students from 10,000 schools in HCM as part of the Physical Activity, Sports and Co-Curricular Assessment.
“The involvement of the younger generation is one of the important approaches in efforts to instil a culture of cleanliness as a shared practice and responsibility,” he told a press conference on the pre-launch of the event here yesterday.
Nga said this year’s HCM had also secured the support of 21 strategic partners from the cleaning sector, industry associations, government-linked companies, multinational corporations, retailers and NGOs.
He said the programme was increasingly important as Malaysia’s solid waste generation continued to rise, reaching 14.5 million tonnes in 2024 and projected to hit 17 million tonnes by 2035.
“A clean environment not only reflects the country’s image and level of development, but is also closely linked to public health, the people’s well-being and environmental sustainability,” he added, Bernama reported.
The 2026 National HCM celebration is scheduled to be held at Pasar Taman Seri Gombak in Batu Caves on Sept 26.
Activities include public clean-ups, recycling drives, exhibitions and community awareness programmes. The public is encouraged to join by organising clean-ups at their homes, workplaces or surrounding areas.
