COMMENT | Halal rubbish. No, I am not insulting halal standards. I am merely pointing out that shopping malls in Selangor must now separate halal rubbish from non-halal rubbish or food waste.

Forgive my limited knowledge of Islam, but in Malaysia, halal usually refers to foods deemed ritually pure enough for Muslims to eat.

But I am confused. Surely nobody expects them to eat food scraps, so why the need for separate trash bins?

Garbage is garbage. Leftover food is meant to be recycled into fertilisers. They are broken down by bacteria and fungi to become rich compost. The only possible reason for separate bins is if we want to create “halal fertilisers”.

If so...