After 2015 failure, Putrajaya to come up with new waste separation scheme

Zuraida Kamaruddin says there will be increased awareness programmes on the new household separation scheme.

SUBANG: Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin today announced a new household separation scheme and recycling initiatives “to turn trash to cash”.

This comes after past failures to separate household waste and the recent dumping of plastic waste smuggled into the country.

Zuraida said she is working with waste collection concessionaires, including Alam Flora and SWM Environment Sdn Bhd, to carry out the household separation scheme nationwide.

The companies have been told to identify the residential areas so that the exercise can start next year.

She said the concessionaires will have to come up with the infrastructures and provide supporting materials such as rubbish bins to separate the garbage.

“Even though only seven states, where we have concessionaires, have signed up with us so far, we are determined to clean up these states,” she said after launching a paper on “An Advanced Plastics Recycling Industry for Malaysia” compiled by the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) and Malaysian Plastics Recyclers Association (MPRA) at Monash University Malaysia here today.

Zuraida said the new pilot project will be held at the selected residential areas and for those who do not agree with the separation of household waste “we don’t collect your rubbish and you live with your rubbish”.

Asked how the campaign will be different from the 2015 project, she said there will be
increased awareness and educational programmes.

“Secondly, it has to come along with some regulations and laws and end up with a penalty. We have the laws but the enforcement is not being done yet, so we are looking into that.”

She cited countries like Japan and Finland that took some 25 to 40 years to get the system implemented.

“I don’t think Malaysia should be taking that long. We already have some of the examples in hand and how they do it. If we wait for 40 years, I don’t know what’s going to happen to this country,” she said.

The mandatory waste separation was met with public apathy coupled with lack of enforcement after it was announced in September 2015.

The public was initially given a grace period of six months, with enforcement slated to take effect in June 2016.

Trash for cash

Zuraida said she wants people living in low-cost flats to turn their trash to cash. At the community level, she said her officers will teach the residents to separate their rubbish, recycle and sell it.

“They can make money out of their rubbish and after that, for food waste, we will teach them how to compost things,” she said.

She said her ministry started a pilot project in Ampang in August and hopes to develop a standard operating procedure for other areas. - FMT