Reports by SHERIDAN MAHAVERA, JUNAID IBRAHIM and WANI MUTHIAH
PETALING JAYA: The expansion of a plastic bag ban in Selangor to three days will significantly reduce landfill use and reliance on waste-to-energy plants, says a state exco member.
Selangor public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said although the current policy has reduced plastic waste, Selangor continues to generate a significant amount as Malaysia’s most industrialised and populous state.
Mountain of waste: Garbage generation in Selangor is expected to increase 6% annually.
Currently, shops in Selangor do not give out plastic bags every Saturday, and the state government plans to extend this to every Friday, Saturday and Sunday sometime this year.
“Behavioural changes are not instantaneous, especially given how ingrained plastic usage is in daily life,” Jamaliah said in an email response.
She noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had caused a surge in plastic use and rolled back progress, as health concerns led to increased reliance on disposable materials.
According to 2021 figures from her office, Selangor produces about 6,137 metric tonnes of household and industrial, commercial and institutional waste daily.
Additionally, 2,537 tonnes of construction and demolition waste, post-consumer waste and bulky waste are generated daily.
Plastic waste is the second-largest component of waste sent to landfills, trailing only organic or food waste.
“This highlights the significant role plastics play in our daily lives and economy,” Jamaliah said.
Selangor faces growing waste management challenges, with garbage generation expected to increase 6% annually, according to KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd.
To manage this, the state government is constructing incinerators that will purportedly burn waste and turn it into energy.
One such waste-to-energy plant in Batu Arang, Rawang, has already attracted protests from the local residents.
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari justified the need for such facilities in October 2023, saying that opening new landfills was no longer feasible.
A new landfill spanning 40ha to 50ha would render the land undevelopable for the next two decades or more, he reportedly said, adding that valuable real estate could be used for more productive uses.
Jamaliah echoed these concerns, saying that reducing plastic waste is crucial to minimising landfill dependency and preserving land for critical uses like food production and affordable housing.In addition to extending the plastic bag ban, Selangor has banned the import of foreign plastic waste and is reviewing the 20sen plastic bag levy.
The state has also introduced a door-to-door recycling programme in collaboration with Nestle and KPT Recycle, targeting areas such as Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang and Kuala Langat.
“These programmes have successfully increased recycling rates in neighbourhoods where they have been introduced,” Jamaliah said, adding that these initiatives aim to support a shift toward a circular economy where waste is reused and recycled rather than discarded.
“The state will continue to prioritise strategies such as enhancing recycling capabilities, promoting waste-to-product innovations and enforcing policies that reduce plastic production.
“These efforts will ensure that the dependency on landfills and waste-to-energy plants is minimised in the long term,” she said.
