Last year it achieved 17.5 per cent.
“This is still far from those of foreign countries where the recycling rate is between 50 and 60 per cent,” said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan.
In Austria the recycling rate is 68 percent, in Germany 62 per cent, in Taiwan 60 per cent, and in Singapore it is 59 per cent.
Speaking at a press conference at the Projek Perumahan Rakyat at Pantai Dalam here today, Abdul Rahman said as part of the initiative to reach the Federal Government’s recycling goal, the Government was enforcing the waste segregation law in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Pahang, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, and Kedah effective today.
These states and territories adopted the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) last September. Under this law, residents have to separate waste into categories such as plastic, paper, cardboard, glass, metal and food remains.
However, to allow residents time to adjust to the new arrangement, the Government decided to advise and caution people until May 31. However, from today, those who flout the law can expect to be penalised.
Under the Act, landed property owners who fail to segregate their waste will be fined RM50 for the first offence, RM100 for the second offence, and RM500 for the third offence. The fine for non-landed property owners is RM100 for the first offence, RM200 for the second and RM500 for the third.
Court action will be taken for subsequent offences, and anyone found guilty can get up to a maximum fine of RM1,000.
“The purpose of these compounds is not to punish but it is for advocacy. We can only become a civilised society when we can manage our rubbish properly.”
Asked whether other states would follow suit, Abdul Rahman said it was up to the state governments but that he hoped they would.
“States like Selangor and Penang have problems stemming from waste disposal too. Such as dengue cases in Selangor. Even if they do not implement Act 672, hopefully they can come up with a similar Act.”
He added that the cost of waste disposal and public cleaning in the country was RM2 billion a year.
“This is money that can go towards the development of hospitals, schools, and universities, among other things.”