Beginning tomorrow, households in seven states including the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will begin the compulsory separation of solid waste at source or from the house.

Enforcement of the order in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya; Kuala Lumpur; Pahang; Johor; Malacca; Negri Sembilan; Kedah and Perlis, among other things aimed to reduce the delivery of solid waste to the garbage disposal sites but did not involve any fine.

As a measure of advocacy, households failing to abide by the order will only be given a warning notice before the law is actually enforced on those who failed to comply with the requirement effective June 1.

Based on the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act (Act 672), a maximum compound of up to RM1,000 can be imposed on residents refusing to implement the solid waste separation.

The implementation of the order will require residents to separate solid waste according to the types of the garbage namely materials that can be recycled, waste remnants, bulk garbage, and garden waste while waiting for garbage collection which had been stipulated by the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp).

The method of collection by the concession companies will be implemented according to the 2+1 formula which is collection being carried out twice weekly for waste remnants while once a week for recycled waste, bulk waste and garden waste.

Meanwhile, SWCorp chief executive officer Ab Rahim Md Noor said the enforcement of the act was timely because besides reducing the percentage of garbage sent to the disposal site by up to 40 percent, it was also expected to increase the rate of recycling in excess of 22 percent by the year 2020.

He said that out of the 33,000 tonnes of solid waste collected daily, only 10.5 percent were recycled while the rest were disposed of at the disposal sites.

“Besides helping to extend the life expectancy of the disposal sites, the enforcement of the act is believed to be able to raise the rate of recycling to more than 22 percent by the yar 2020,” he told Bernama recently.

- Bernama