First and foremost, kudos to the Malaysian government for prominently emphasising on waste management issues lately. Finally we have come to a point where we understand that we have to worry not only about what we need and use but also about what we discard.

We are all well aware of the few foreigners who have noted their dismay over the improper disposal habits and waste management in our country through their 'Letters to the Editor'. Subsequently, the ministry of natural resources and environment and the ministry of housing and local government have expressed their concern about the volume of waste generated in Malaysia.

If we examine the exact scenario, we realise that Malaysian consumers are generating a very high amount of waste, which is mainly consisting of food waste. However, the recycling rate is very low despite of a recycling campaign that was introduced in the year 2000. This campaign only managed to attain a 5-7% total recycling rate.

Further, we have problem with landfills nationwide and the move to introduce incineration is not well-accepted by the public. Now, there are moves to introduce waste disposal fees as one of the strategies of the waste minimisation programme. However before the authorities charge consumers based on the amount of garbage generated, efforts should be taken to build the capacity of consumers to reduce waste.

I have noticed that in 2005, the recycling campaign by the ministry was not the only effort undertaken. Many corporations had introduced recycling campaigns to the communities around their facilities as part of their social responsibility projects.

Some of the major ones were the 'Intel in Your Community' recycling campaign in Kulim, the Silterra Malaysia recycling awareness campaign, Seagate Malaysia's paper recycling campaign, Sony Malaysia's Plug-in to Recycle campaign and not forgetting the Alam Flora's electronic waste recycling efforts.

Nil doorstep collection

Despite of the many efforts undertaken, there is still very low recycling rate. I feel that while most of the projects carried out have vastly focused on creating awareness and education, the basic infrastructure to encourage recycling is still lacking.

Most importantly, there is no proper collection mechanism for the composted household recyclable materials. We still dwell with a garbage collection system where all types of garbage are collected simultaneously.

In Germany, which is often recognised as the world champion on environment, successful waste management schemes have been implemented. The consumers will separate their waste accordingly and the waste will be placed in five different-coloured bins and the municipal will collect one specific type of waste on one particular day following a schedule.

In Rome, people who do not separate their rubbish if they have a recycling bin within 500 meters of their front door can be fined up to 619 euros. Without moving very far, another very good example is our neighbouring country Singapore, which attained a recycling rate of 48% in 2004.

In Malaysia, while many consumers have started to segregate their waste at home, there is still no collection at the doorstep, forcing them to make extra effort of sending the waste to a nearby recycling center - that is if there is one in the neighbourhood. This is why consumers rather throw their waste all together without separation through the available garbage collection system.

Secondly, another major issue that has to be looked into is the usage of plastics. Most of the problems associated with plastic bags are consumption externalities. These externalities occur so readily because nearly all of the over billion plastic bags consumed per day are given out for free.
People overuse plastic bags and as the price of the bags is included in the cost of the item, people often don't realise that they are paying for them too. In the older days, people brought along their baskets, cloth bags and containers for marketing, which reduced the usage of plastic bags. This is not practiced by the new generations.

Sustainable consumption

In many developed countries, usage of plastic is minimised because the stores do not provide plastic bags. Instead, consumers will have to buy an eco-friendly bag and use it every time they go to the store.

The Australian yellow eco-bag is very famous. It is purchased and used practically by every consumer that goes to the stores to buy things. In Hong Kong, the ban on plastic for one day in a year in a good start.

As an alternative to a ban on the usage of plastic bags, it could be wiser to reduce the usage of plastics by providing alternatives to consumers.

Lastly, touching on the statistics given by the ministry of natural resources and environment that 45 percent of domestic waste consist of food waste, consumers should be asked to reduce food wastage. However, other mechanisms should also be studied.

For example, in Australia, when we order food in certain restaurants, we will be charged if we don't finish the food. Why not put into practice a similar rule in Malaysia?

Malaysia is a signatory to the Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Statement of Principles on Sustainable Management of Forest which was signed in the year 1992.

As a signatory country, Malaysia holds the responsibility to abide by the treaties in the conventions to promote sustainable consumption practices in the country. Sustainable waste management is a big segment of sustainable consumption.

Therefore the laws, enforcement and approach to waste management in the country will have to be revisited. Its time to start implementing the 4Rs - Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Rethink.

LOGA SUNTHRI VEERAIAH is attached to the Federation of Malaysian Consumers' Associations (Fomca).