Municipal solid waste management in Malaysia: Practices and challenges Latifah Abd Manaf * , Mohd Armi Abu Samah, Nur Ilyana Mohd Zukki Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia article info Article history: Accepted 22 July 2008 Available online 21 June 2009 abstract Rapid economic development and population growth, inadequate infrastructure and expertise, and land scarcity make the management of municipal solid waste become one of Malaysia’s most critical environ- mental issues. The study is aimed at evaluating the generation, characteristics, and management of solid waste in Malaysia based on published information. In general, the per capita generation rate is about 0.5– 0.8 kg/person/day in which domestic waste is the primary source. Currently, solid waste is managed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, with the participation of the private sector. A new insti- tutional and legislation framework has been structured with the objectives to establish a holistic, inte- grated, and cost-effective solid waste management system, with an emphasis on environmental protection and public health. Therefore, the hierarchy of solid waste management has given the highest priority to source reduction through 3R, intermediate treatment and final disposal. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The management of solid waste continues to be a major chal- lenge in urban areas throughout the world, but particularly in the rapidly growing cities and towns of the developing countries (Foo, 1997). Statistics show that the world population reached six billion in 2001 with 46% of this population residing in urban areas (HMGN and MoPE, 2003). Global municipal solid waste gen- erated in 1997 was about 0.49 billion tons with an estimated an- nual growth rate of 3.2–4.5% in developed nations and 2–3% in developing nations (Suocheng et al., 2001). Rapid urbanization and industrialization changed the characteristics of solid waste generated. As a consequence, the solid waste management system (SWMS) needs to be updated to suit the waste quality, quantity and composition. A typical solid waste management system in developing coun- tries displays an array of problems, including low collection cover- age and irregular collection services, crude open dumping and burning without air and water pollution control, the breeding of flies and vermin, and the handling and control of informal waste picking or scavenging activities (Ogawa, 2000). As urbanization continues to take places, the management of solid waste is becom- ing a major environmental and public health problem in urban areas. These problems are caused by technical, financial, institu- tional, economic, and social factors which constrain the develop- ment of effective solid waste management systems (Ogawa, 2000). This paper presents an overview of the current solid waste man- agement practices in Malaysia and provides a brief discussion of future challenges. It could provide the basis for further develop- ment on sustainable solid waste management in Malaysia. 2. Municipal solid waste management 2.1. Background information Malaysia is a tropical country situated in the central part of Southeast Asia with a total landmass of 329,847 km 2 (Fig. 1). It lies between the longitudes 100° and 120° east and latitudes formed by the Equator and 7° north. The country is separated into two regions – West Malaysia and East Malaysia – by the South China Sea. West Malaysia is the Peninsular, which comprises 11 states. East Malay- sia comprises the two states of Sabah and Sarawak, which are sit- uated on the Island of Borneo. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. Malaysia is surrounded by a few countries. To the north of Malaysia is Thai- land, to the south is Singapore and Indonesia, and to the east are the Philippines Islands. Malaysia has a tropical climate, which is warm and humid throughout the year. Temperatures range from 21 °C to 32 °C and relative humidity ranging from 80% to 90%. Rain tends to occur be- tween November and February on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, on western Sarawak, and north-eastern Sabah. On the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the rainy seasons are April– May and October–November. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual society. The population as of February 2007 was 26.6 million, con- sisting of 62% Malays, 24% Chinese, and 8% Indians, with other minorities and indigenous peoples (Department of Statistic, 2005). Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry, and minerals. Its economy was once 0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2008.07.015 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +603 8946 6747; fax: +603 8946 7463. E-mail address: latifah@env.upm.my (A.M. Latifah). Waste Management 29 (2009) 2902–2906 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Waste Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman