Educating the public about the importance of recycling is essential to achieve a circular economy. – AZMAN GHANI/The Star
THE average amount of domestic waste, or municipal solid waste (MSW), collected in a day by KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) across Selangor is about 7,000 tonnes – equivalent to the maximum weight of about 17 Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jets.
That is how much the state’s seven million population generates a day that goes to the three landfills in the state; not counting those from Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.
Improper waste management can lead to various negative impacts on the environment, and have adverse health effects on communities living near waste disposal sites.
When landfills reach their capacity and have to be closed for 30 years for recovery and restoration, where will the MSW and the 3,000 tonnes collected daily from public cleansing and bulky waste, be disposed of?
The task set out for KDEBWM, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated (MBI), to ensure that everyone has a clean and healthy environment to live in is not a walk in the park.
KDEBWM managing director Datuk Ramli Mohd Tahir recalls the time when the company was asked to oversee the entire waste management operations of the local municipalities in Selangor seven years ago.
Ramli says that KDEBWM plays a huge part within the circular economy.
“We made sure we first got our basics right, and that meant putting in place a standardised system and operating procedure so fair and timely services were extended to customers across Selangor.
“We also purchased more and newer machines for efficient collection, sorting and processing of rubbish as well as public cleansing at parks, drains and more. As a result, our collection rate has increased by 96%,” Ramli points out.
Smart and sustainable waste management
From very early on, KDEBWM has taken several initiatives in implementing sustainable practices. This includes prioritising a sustainable supply chain, optimising transportation routes for the trucks, and implementing recycling and waste management programmes.
KDEBWM launched the iClear Selangor smart application to facilitate and monitor the work of its workers, and improve on performance and optimise overall operation using data collected.
Recently, the Selangor state government approved the building of four waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, one of which will be built by KDEBWM in Rawang.
MSW will be brought to the plant and treated in a large incinerator; steam is then produced in a boiler to power a turbine that will generate electricity.
By 2026, the first stage of the Rawang plant is expected to process 2,400 tonnes of waste from Selangor, and produce 50 megawatts of sustainable energy that is expected to power up about 9,000 households.
The recyclable materials at each facility will be sorted out by the KDEBWM crew. – AZMAN GHANI/The Star
Waste is not dirty, waste is money
KDEBWM is ramping up its efforts in recycling, in line with the First Selangor Plan by the Selangor state government to increase the state’s recycling rate target to 15% by 2025.
Currently, the recycling rate is 10%, and KDEBWM wants to expand its recycling facilities to help achieve that goal, Ramli adds.
“We play a huge part within the circular economy to recover recyclable materials as precious resources from post-consumer generation. Not all waste is supposed to be sent to sanitary landfills but instead be given new life.
“Our plan is to set up at least one recycling collection facility in each of the 12 local municipalities in Selangor,” Ramli points out.
He shares that a Material Recovery Collection Facility has been established in Klang (MPKlang), Bukit Puchong (MBSJ) and Kuala Langat (MPKL); each facility can collect up to 20 tonnes of recyclable materials a day and will be sorted by their own crew.
Meanwhile, the Cyberjaya Recycling Centre in collaboration with Sepang Municipal Council adopts the buyback approach where KDEBWM buys back recyclable materials from the community as an incentive to increase awareness and inculcate the recycling habit within.
KDEBWM has also just launched a drop-off centre in Hicom, Shah Alam, with plans to work with other agencies and companies to provide more of such facilities.
KDEBWM is also finalising its partnership with a leading integrated chemicals producer in Malaysia to supply them plastics collected from waste.
The goal is to convert single-use plastics to hydrocarbon oils, known as TACOIL, that can be used as an ingredient to recreate plastics for packaging. The project is expected to start in 2025.
What a waste
Despite KDEBWM’s efforts in contributing to the circular economy chain, Ramli laments on how it is difficult to change people’s mentality because to them, “waste is dirty”.
Low levels of awareness and participation among the public can also hinder the effectiveness of recycling especially if there is no segregation at source resulting from improper disposal or the inclusion of non-recyclable items.
Educating and engaging the public, including students at schools about the importance of recycling and providing clear recycling guidelines are essential to overcome this challenge, Ramli stresses.
“There is also a need for regulatory frameworks to enforce proper waste management practices or strict punishment on illegal dumping caused by both the public and irresponsible parties to prevent the generation of problematic waste.
“We, too, hope that the federal government can help us in terms of funding for better infrastructure and technology like more recycling facilities, WTE plants and automated sorting systems,” Ramli shares.
He adds that when it comes to sustainable practices, it has to be subscribed by all stakeholders and are in agreement to have a cleaner state, reduce carbon emissions, make money to pump into the economy, generate more job opportunities, and ensure less complaints when it comes to public amenities and services.
“We need everyone to understand their statuses and roles, but the problem is that we don’t realise what our status is.
“For example, a taxpayer would demand their waste to be collected as scheduled. But it is also their responsibility to segregate waste or reduce waste generation prior to the collection by virtue that it is their waste.
“If they can help us, indirectly, they are helping conserve the environment,” Ramli concludes.
