MALAYSIANS CHURN OUT 12,000 TONNES OF REFUSE DAILY

SEREMBAN (Malaysia), June 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysians discard an estimated
12,000 tonnes of refuse a day, and that amount is expected to keep on increasing
if people do not start recycling, according to the Solid Waste and Public
Cleansing Management Corporation.

Chief Executive Officer Zaini Md Nor said the waste generated daily
could reach 30,000 tonnes by 2020.
"Landfills are shrinking while waste is increasing by the day. If not
managed well, the situation would give rise to pollution and spread of
diseases," he told reporters after handing over bank account books for the
Recycle Bank Programme at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St Paul ( a secondary
school) here Wednesday.

He said the breakdown of refuse composition showed food waste as being the
highest at 45 per cent, followed by plastic, paper, metal and glass.

About 75 per cent of refuse was collected by private companies or
concessionaires while 25 per cent was disposed of in other ways, including
illegally into rivers or certain sites.

Zaini said that over the next three years, the corporation aimed to educate
the public on the importance of taking care of the environment and improving the
cleaning of drains.

The one-year Recycle Bank Programme, organised for schools in Negeri
Sembilan with the cooperation of the state education department, SWM Environment
Sdn Bhd and Maybank Berhad, would involve 341 primary and 127 secondary schools
in the Seremban area alone.

SMK St Paul Seremban was the pioneer of the programme, which uses the
principles of 3R (recycle, reuse and reduce), to encourage students to separate
waste.

The programme involves students collecting recyclable waste. Proceeds of the
sale would be deposited into their bank accounts as an incentive to recycle.

-- BERNAMA