Malaysians are effectively paying twice for poor waste management through taxes and hidden costs such as pollution and health risks, a researcher has said.
Dr Keeren Sundara Rajoo, a researcher and senior lecturer at the Universiti Putra Malaysia, said solid waste management and public cleansing account for between 40 per cent and 80 per cent of local authority expenditure, making it one of the largest drains on municipal budgets, Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported.
“People may not see a separate charge for waste, but they are already paying it through local authority spending,” he told FMT.
The costs also extend beyond public finances, he added, with households bearing the impact through environmental degradation, health risks and the loss of recyclable materials.
Poor waste separation and inefficient handling increase overall costs, even when they are not immediately visible to the public, Rajoo added.
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), poorly managed waste impacts public health and people residing near poorly managed landfills will face greater risks.
High spending on waste management also reduces fiscal space essential public services such as roads, schools, clinics and other amenities, Rajoo said.
Mami Irie, a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture, said waste should be treated not just as a disposal issue but as a broader economic and public health challenge.
“When food and other recoverable materials are wasted instead of being reused or recycled, society loses resources and people ultimately feel the impact in their environment and quality of life,” she said, as cited by FMT.
Rajoo and Irie are collaborating on a project titled “Towards Zero Food Waste in Bintulu”, which aims to improve waste management systems through data-driven solutions.
Recyclable materials make up a significant share of waste sent to landfills in Malaysia, often becoming unusable due to contamination, according to the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp).
SWCorp has introduced initiatives to improve recycling rates and reduce reliance on landfills, including expanding infrastructure and increasing public awareness.
