Solid Waste Management in Malaysia – A Move Towards Sustainability

Abstract

Waste management is a crucial area related to the economic status of a country and the lifestyle of its population. Solid waste management can be defined as a discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of solid wastes (Tchobanoglous 1993) and in spite of the aggressive economic development in Malaysia, the solid waste management is relatively poor(MMHLG 1988; Nesadurai 1999).The main objective is to improve waste minimization strategy and control. Modern waste management is shifted to a more flexible waste hierarchy concept, also called as 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) policies (Tanaka 1999; Wilson 2007). The developing Asia counts as the fastest and largest waste generator globally and a closer inspection reveals a mix of general and specific elements of policy dynamics in the evolution and adoption of waste management policies (UNCRD et al. 2009).