Separate waste from September
– Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: Households will start segregating their waste in stages beginning September, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung.
This is in line with the enforcement of the Solid Waste and Public Cleaning Act, and the privatisation of solid waste management and public cleaning work.
He said this would initially be implemented in cities and towns like Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Alor Setar, where the concessionaire would carry out recycled waste collection on a weekly basis.
“At the same time, we will encourage recycling.
“When the time comes, say in two or three years when there is sufficient awareness among the society on the need to segregate their household waste, we will make this compulsory and those not adhering to it will be fined,” he told reporters after opening the National Recycling Day here yesterday.
He said such a practice could see a reduction of up to 40% in the 25,000 tonnes of waste generated daily.
Earlier in his speech, Chor said only eight of the 166 waste disposal sites in the country had managed to achieve a “sanitary” status, adding that the rest could be harmful to the environment.
He said these sites had also become hotspots for the spread of vector-borne diseases besides being a threat to public health.
“We should adopt a responsible attitude and play our role in tackling solid waste disposal problems by practising the 3R concept of reduce, reuse and recycle,” he said.
Chor also launched a toll-free line, 1-800-88-7472 (SISA), which would allow consumers in the peninsula, except for those in Selangor, Perak and Penang, to report waste disposal issues.
He also launched the RoadTour 1Malaysia, in collaboration with Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), to promote recycling for a week from yesterday.
Environmental Development in Malaysia 
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