The government is looking to initiate pilot projects at landfills in three states with a view to turning such facilities into waste-to-energy plants.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad said these landfills were located in Malacca, Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

“The matter is still under discussion with the parties involved,” he told reporters after opening an International Solid Waste Association congress in Kuala Lumpur today.

A waste-to-energy plant converts solid waste into electricity, and is considered to be a more ecological and cost-effective method of energy recovery.

Raja Bahrin said the ministry would try to get other states involved in the initiative further down the line.

In his speech, the deputy minister noted that Malaysia currently generated about 38,000 tonnes of waste daily.

"Out of the huge amount, waste separation and recycle rate is only at 24 percent, while the remaining 76 percent goes to landfills,” he said, adding that the ministry also hoped to raise the waste separation and recycling rate to 30 percent by 2020.

Some 1,500 participants from over 60 countries comprising industry players are in town for the three-day congress, which ends on Wednesday.

- Bernama