SHAH ALAM, Nov 19 — Selangor is open to discussing a proposal to introduce household waste charges based on the volume of garbage generated, the State Legislative Assembly heard today.
However, the matter requires further deliberation with other related state portfolios, including housing and local government, said the state executive councillor for public health and the environment Jamaliah Jamaluddin.
“On the proposal whether households should be charged based on the quantity of waste produced, this is indeed an issue that we can raise for discussion.
"However, it involves the portfolios of other state executive councillors. It will take some time to deliberate on the policy and obtain consensus from all committee members. But I think the proposal is a good one," she said.
Jamaliah was responding to proposals by Taman Medan state assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin to address the impact of climate change on Selangor via the Selangor Adaptation Centre (SCAC).
Among other things, he suggested introducing a ‘Pay As You Throw’ policy that charges households based on the amount of waste they produce.
Dr Afif also suggested implementing green budget tagging (GBT), a method governments use to identify, track, and classify budget items that contribute to environmental or climate-related goals.
On GBT, Jamaliah said she would raise the matter for discussion to ensure that all projects developed by the state government take sustainability and climate change into consideration.
At present, the SCAC's focus is on understanding the current situation in Selangor and identifying "low-hanging fruit" and areas that require immediate, critical intervention.
"In the few months (that the SCAC was established), we have initiated over 10 initiatives. One of SCAC's roles and responsibilities is to coordinate with all the relevant stakeholders, including NGOs, academia, and the private sector,” she said.
Jamaliah added that the SCAC, which was officially established on May 19, will receive approximately RM1.46 million annually from the state government to cover operational costs and emoluments.
