Waste generation and characteristization: Case study of Seberang Takir, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract

Seberang Takir is a small town in Terengganu. In 2013, the rate of population in Kuala Terengganu was 375,481 people. The population in Seberang Takir gathered in 2013 was about 32000 people. From that numbers 64.5% were in urban area while remaining 35.5% residing in rural area. The generation of solid waste is associated with number of population. The problems associated with the inefficient of waste management in Malaysia are inadequate equipment used for waste collection, lack of effective legislation for waste management and technical constraint such as solid waste management planning and operation. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of waste generation and its characteristics, the relationship between solid waste generations and total monthly income, the relationship between solid waste generation and family size as well as to determine the willingness of community towards new approach in solid waste management. Data was collected from the distribution of questionnaire from selected residential area and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). This study have found that the dominant composition of solid waste were food waste, followed by plastic and paper. The generation rate for dominant composition of solid waste such as food waste, plastic and paper were in the range of 24 kg/month and above respectively. The other waste such as glass, tins and other wastes were in range of 0 to 6 kg/month respectively. The result of this research also showed that there was a strong significant relationship between family size and solid waste generation but in contrast there was no significant relationship between total monthly income and solid waste generation.