Municipal Solid Waste Management in Malaysia: An Insight Towards Sustainability

Abstract

Malaysia is one of the most successful developing countries in term of economic growth and stable politic conditions. Rapid economic transition and increasing of urban population will reflect the escalation of solid waste generation. In fact, it has become a threatened to human habitat nowadays as well as one of the critical challenges in sustainable development. Municipal solid waste management in Malaysia has experiencing a transition since 1960 until official solid waste management legislation is fully implemented in 2011. This transition shows the Malaysian government is committed to strive towards effective municipal solid waste management. The objective of this concept paper is to give an insight towards sustainable municipal solid waste management in Malaysia through brief discussion of municipal solid waste definition, characteristic, practices and policies.