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Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) issues have become talk of the day worldwide because of the current and the future threats it has to both life and the environment. Malaysia, like other developing nations, has been facing serious problems in recent years in terms of MSW and its management due to the nation's rapid economic growth. The objective of this paper is to review and present the current state of MSW and its management in Malaysia and to estimate the economic potentials of some recyclables as well. MSW generation in Malaysia has increased significantly in recent years, ranging between 0.5 -2.5kg per capita per day (or a total of 25000 -30000 tons per day). Generally, the waste contains high amount of organics, moisture content and bulk density. More than 70% of the generated wastes are collected using both curbside and communal centers with a collection frequency varying from daily to every two days. In addition, both compactor trucks and open lorry trucks are used. Landfilling is the main disposal method practiced; about 90 -95% of the collected wastes is still disposed in landfills, with a recycling rate of 5 -10% despite the fact that 70 -80% of the waste is recyclable. Estimation of the amount of recyclables and their revenue generation potential shows an impressive result. Recycling and composting of the municipal solid waste is therefore recommended.

Landfill gas (LFG) is essentially greenhouse gas (GHG) composed predominantly of methane and carbon dioxide produced from the anaerobic biodegradation of municipal solid waste in landfills. The amount of gas produced can be estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology. Most sanitary landfills flare this potential renewable energy source, which is an unfortunate waste of a valuable resource. This study develops an optimization model for effective LFG utilization as a sustainable energy source based on economic and environmental considerations. The mixed integer linear programming model developed was applied to Seelong Sanitary Landfill, Malaysia, and led to profits 7.6 times higher than those currently gained. This enormous increase is due to the incorporation of renewable energy production in the new plan. In addition, the combined heat and power generation proposed is 2420 tons of oil equivalents, which is 0.0035% of the total energy production of Malaysia. Similarly, the LFG utilization leads to a national GHG reduction of 0.007%. Implementing this at the 14 sanitary landfills in the country will go a long way towards broadening the energy base while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of the nation. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 289–296, 2015

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Release of green house gases (GHGs) from landfills as a result of ineffective management of those landfills is a serious environmental problem especially in developing countries. The landfill gas (LFG) thus released is a potential resource that can be converted to renewable energy. LFG is made up majorly of methane and carbon dioxide and produced by anaerobic biodegradation processes of municipal solid waste in landfills. This study estimates the amount of this methane emitted from landfills and its potential economic benefits. Using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (lPCC) methodology, in 2002, methane emission of 251,000 tonnes per year was estimated for Peninsular Malaysia based on 16,988 tonnes per day of municipal solid waste generated. This can generate 1.5 billion kWh of electricity per year worth over RM 450 million (US$I41 million). In addition, this leads to carbon dioxide reduction of 5,271,000 tonnes per year equivalent to carbon credit of RM 222 million (US$69 million). Therefore, the exploration of this resource, besides the economic benefits helps in reducing the dependence on depleting fossil fuel and hence mitigating global warming.

Global warming has become one of the major environmental issues all over the world. The temperature of the world is increasing day by day, and fortunately, everybody wants to mitigate this fearful condition from own perspective. Carbon dioxide sequestration is a worldwide recognized project for making huge amount of carbon inactive, which is the main component of greenhouse gases, by sequestrating it beneath the Earth. The paper aims to dictate the probable success of CO₂ sequestration in Bangladesh. As abandoned gas fields are the best options for sequestration, characteristics of the potential gas fields of Bangladesh have been analyzed according to Stefan Bachu's method of classification for CO₂ sequestration. Titas gas field shows the best suitability, and accordingly, an Eclipse simulation software basis approach has been taken for this field to determine possible outcomes from probable sequestration project. Simulation result predicts an amount of 2.92 Tcf carbon dioxide gas to be sequestrated after 50 years of simulation. Other criteria such as field pressure, gas saturation are also evaluated.