KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Nearly 40 per cent of the country's 40,000 metric tonnes of solid waste generated daily is food waste, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
Addressing this waste issue requires cooperation from all parties through a "whole-of-nation approach" that involves businesses and consumers in collectively changing their attitudes and practices.
“This is a form of waste. Food waste is not a crime, but it is a sin. It is a grave sin when edible food is simply thrown away,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Nga was responding to Tumpat MP Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi's query regarding the latest developments in efforts to reduce waste sent to landfills and to increase recycling rates.
Meanwhile, he expressed confidence that the ministry (KPKT) will achieve its target of exceeding a 40 per cent recycling rate by the end of this year.
Under the "Trash to Cash" recycling programme, the total collection of recyclable materials between January and August exceeded 7.86 million kg, with a sales value of over RM2.85 million.
“Secondly, the zero-waste community initiative involving the establishment of 17 active zero-waste community centres during the same period has collected over 111,504 kg of recyclable materials,” he said.
Ng added that a school-based recycling competition involving 1,680 schools collected 4.95 million kg of recyclable materials, which were sold for RM2.98 million.
“Based on calculations of the total collected from 2018 to last year, we managed to gather nearly 20 million kg of recyclable items, generating proceeds exceeding RM10.22 million,” he said.
Responding to Mumtaz's supplementary question on the specific controls and enforcement actions KPKT has implemented to address cable theft, including penalties imposed on third parties or buyers, Nga said the Cabinet takes the issue seriously.
“We constantly collaborate and engage with the Ministry of Home Affairs, including examining the need to amend relevant laws to ensure harsher penalties are imposed on cable theft offenders in the country.
“There have been several instances where LRT (Light Rail Transit) operations were disrupted due to cable theft by syndicates; therefore, this matter (amending laws for heavier penalties) is crucial to ensuring we continue to safeguard public safety and the well-being of the people,” he said.
