An assessment of waste management operation in Malaysia: case study on Kuala Langat and Sepang

Malaysia has seen a high rate of economic growth in past couple of decades hand in hand with an ever increasing size of population. Consequently, the issue of sustainable waste management has become an important priority for policymakers and other stakeholders of the society. Although the respective local administrations are responsible for collection and disposal of household and industrial wastes, privatization of the entire process has been heavily promoted and pursued by the federal government of the country. A significant number of waste dealers – both formal and informal – are currently involved in the field level. Through analysing the inputs acquired from semi-structured interviews with these waste dealers operating at Kuala Langat and Sepang districts in the Selangor state, this paper attempts to identify the roles they are playing in the overall waste management cycle, the challenges they are facing, and the untapped opportunities from their operations. This paper will help the policy makers, waste management strategists, local administrators and researchers in the field to formulate sustainable policies, and identify further areas of study in the relevant field.