Overview of Hazardous Waste Management Status in Malaysia

Abstract

This chapter reviews the status of hazardous waste management in Malaysia. It highlights the sources of the hazardous waste, government policies on waste generation and management, the involvement of the stakeholders, and the various management procedures adopted in Malaysia. Currently, the manufacturing sector is the major contributor in hazardous waste generated in Malaysia. Other sectors that contribute include household, agriculture, medical, and other industrial sectors. Malaysian government's resolve on human health protection and safeguarding the environment prompted various acts, regulations, and orders such as the popular Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974. The regulations made pursuant to the Environmental Quality Act have continuously improved to address the issues on the definition and classifications of hazardous waste and the management process in Malaysia. The management of hazardous waste in Malaysia is effectively growing as a result of continuous review of the regulations and enforcement of the acts. The stakeholders in the industries have also been active in keeping to the EQA regulations to keep the environment safe as much as possible.

The Impacts of Illegal Toxic Waste Dumping on Children’s Health: A Review and Case Study from Pasir Gudang, Malaysia

“…According to the UN environment report [ 32 ], Malaysia generated about 1,600,000 tons of all classes of hazardous waste per year, the third among Association Of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries behind Thailand and Philippines, which generated about 3,300,000 and 1,700,000 tons per year, respectively. The manufacturing sector in Malaysia is the leading sector generating toxic and hazardous waste [ 33 ]. As waste generation is expected to rise with the population growth and economic development, Malaysia is likely to experience an increase in hazardous waste generation.…”

Environmental Factors and Academic Performance: The Mediating Effect of Quality of Life

“…Other previous studies in Malaysia have focused on environmental hazards associated with hill land development (Chan 1998 ); the opinion of contractors on the numerous issues related to the environment which include water pollution, air pollution, deforestation, soil erosion and groundwater contamination (Begum and Pereira 2008 ); and to examine the awareness, views and understanding of the urban Malaysians regarding air pollution (Chin et al 2019 ). Toxic and dangerous waste management status in Malaysia are reviewed by Aja et al ( 2016 ). In their study, Aja et al ( 2016 ), highlights the hazardous waste sources, government policies on waste generation and management, stakeholder participation and the different management procedures implemented in Malaysia.…”

An Overview of Scheduled Wastes Management in Malaysia

“…This is referred to the waste materials that are specified in the "First Schedule of Regulation In 1987, the scheduled wastes generated in Malaysia was 400 thousand tonnes, however there was no specific institution to manage the scheduled wastes. The wastes increased to one million tonnes in 2008 and grew to 1.88 million tonnes in 2010 [2,3]. In 2017, the quantity of scheduled waste generated in Malaysia was 2.02 million tonnes and the largest contributor was from the manufacturing industry [4].…”