Types Of Waste Produced By Malaysian

Types of Waste Produced by Malaysian 

The major waste components

- Waste were grouped into 3 categories ,solid waste,medical waste and hazardous waste.

- About 64% domestic,25%industrial,8%commerciall,and 3% construction waste.

(source,roundtable on urban solid waste management.privatization management on solid waste in developing countries, The MalaysiaExperience,28 sep 1998.)

1.     Solid waste can be defined as:

Useless and unwanted products in the solid state derived from the activities of and discarded by society. It is produced either by product of production processes or arise from the domestic or commercial sector when objects or materials are discarded after use.  

a) Garbage: the term given principally to food waste, but may include other degradable organic wastes.

b) Rubbish: consists of combustible and non-combustible solid waste, excluding food wastes.

c) Litter: odds and ends, bits of paper, discarded wrappings, bottles etc. Left lying around in public places.

Medical waste

·       Clinical wastes differ from any other wastes that being produced in hospitals. Sharps, human tissues or body parts and other infectious materials contain in clinical waste poses potential health and environmental risk.

·       25% of clinical waste is considered infectious (Shinee et al., 2008). Environmental pollution, unpleasant odors encourages insects, rodents and worms to breed that may lead to transmission of disease like cholera, hepatitis or typhoid through injuries from contaminated sharps.

·       Frost and Sullivan have estimated that the total quantity of hospital waste produced in Malaysia could reach 33,000 tonnes per year by 2020, based on a recent survey. This is more than double the current 16,000 tonnes per year, and considerably greater than the 18,000 tonne per year capacity of the current incinerator infrastructure. 

·       Hospitals use special care in disposing of wastes contaminated with blood and tissue, separating these hazardous wastes from ordinary waste.

 Hazardous Waste

Sources of Hazardous Waste:


1) Industrial waste

For example, in the computer software industry. Making a computer circuit board generates spent electroplating baths that contain metal salts, and the production of computer chips uses acids, other caustic chemicals, and solvents. Other hazardous wastes are generated in the manufacture of fiber optics and copper wire used in electronic transmission, as well as magnetic disks

2) Agricultural Waste

Agriculture produces such wastes as pesticides and herbicides and the materials used in their application. Fluoride wastes are by-products of phosphate fertilizer production. Even soluble nitrates from manure may dissolve into groundwater and contaminate drinking-water wells; high levels of nitrates may cause health problems.

3) Household Waste

Household sources of hazardous wastes include toxic paints, flammable solvents, caustic cleaners, toxic batteries, pesticides, drugs, and mercury from broken fever thermometers.

Overall overview on Malaysian waste dumping

Source Typical waste generators Types of solid wastes Residential Single and multifamily dwellings Food wastes, paper, cardboard, plastics, textiles, leather, yard wastes, wood, glass, metals, ashes, special wastes (e.g., bulky items, consumer electronics, white goods, batteries, oil, tires), and household hazardous wastes.). Industrial Light and heavy manufacturing, fabrication, construction sites, power and chemical plants. Housekeeping wastes, packaging, food wastes, construction and demolition materials, hazardous wastes, ashes, special wastes. Commercial Stores, hotels, restaurants, markets, office buildings, etc. Paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, food wastes, glass, metals, special wastes, hazardous wastes. Institutional Schools, hospitals, prisons, government centers. Same as commercial. Construction and demolition New construction sites, road repair, renovation sites, demolition of buildings Wood, steel, concrete, dirt, etc. Municipal services Street cleaning, landscaping, parks, beaches, other recreational areas, water and wastewater treatment plants. Street sweepings; landscape and tree trimmings; general wastes from parks, beaches, and other recreational areas; sludge. Process (manufacturing, etc.) Heavy and light manufacturing, refineries, chemical plants, power plants, mineral extraction and processing. Industrial process wastes, scrap materials, off-specification products, slay, tailings. Agriculture Crops, orchards, vineyards, dairies, feedlots, farms. Spoiled food wastes, agricultural wastes, hazardous wastes (e.g., pesticides).

Source: What A Waste: Solid Waste Management in Asia. Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999. Working Paper Series Nr. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit. East Asia and Pacific Region. Page 5.