HOUSEHOLDS are generating more waste during the movement-control order (MCO) period, but overall rubbish collection since the partial lockdown started on March 18 is lower than before, said waste management operators.

The decline is because most non-essential industries and businesses are required to halt operations, KDEB Waste Management (KDEBWM) managing director Ramli Mohd Tahir told The Malaysian Insight.

Residential areas are producing the most solid waste. Eateries, which can only cater to takeaways and deliveries during the MCO, are generating far less waste than their usual volume.

A a KDEBWM study conducted from the week before the MCO began until the end of its first phase on March 31 shows an overall reduction in waste of more than 14%, Ramli said.

“The overall amount of waste collected and managed by KDEBWM in all of Selangor’s 12 localities was down 7.9% in the first week of the MCO and it dropped a further 7.5% in the second week.”

In the week before the government directive came into force, total waste volume stood at 34,052.41 tonnes. From March 18 to 24, it dropped to 31,370.37 tonnes, and decreased further to 29,026.17 tonnes the following week.

Despite the drop, said Ramli, rubbish produced by households increased about 10% as more people are cooking at home and ordering food and other goods.

“There was the assumption that waste generation would increase during the MCO period but the biggest generators of waste by volume, which are commercial areas, restaurants, institutions and factories, are all closed.”

The trend is also evident geographically, with city councils seeing a bigger drop in waste collection compared with smaller municipalities.

Most industrial and commercial operations are near urban areas in Selangor and their closure during the MCO has led to a notable reduction in the amount of waste.

However, authorities in outlying districts, where there are fewer factories and commercial activities, are collecting just slightly less than what they would normally.

On what kind of waste households are generating, such as whether there is an increase in masks or disposable packaging, Ramli said analysing waste composition is outside KDEBWM’s scope of work.

“The assumption that there are more masks, gloves, food containers and plastic packaging from the delivery of goods could be the case in urban areas but the composition is different in rural areas.”

Workers fear Covid-19

Worldwide Holdings, which collects waste and manages landfills in Selangor and Johor, also reported a significant reduction in rubbish volume during the MCO, for the same reasons cited by Ramli.

However, chief executive Norazlina Zakaria said it noticed a small increase in masks and gloves mixed with solid waste collected from residential areas.

“Naturally, our employees are worried about handling such waste and the spread of Covid-19.

“We have provided staff working at the landfills with additional personal-protective equipment (PPE), so that they can avoid direct contact with masks and gloves mixed in with the domestic waste.

“The PPE we provide include masks, gloves, jackets and boots. We also use sanitising tunnels and observe hand-washing and hand-sanitation.”

Worldwide estimates that there has been a 40% slide in the waste sent to its Selangor landfills during the MCO.

She said almost 90% of the waste now is domestic waste.

“The reduction is mostly in the construction, commercial and industrial waste categories.”

Worldwide operates six disposal sites, three sanitary landfills and three industrial waste-disposal facilities in Selangor, while in Johor, it has five disposal sites operational since last June, managing 15% of the state’s domestic waste.

“At our facilities in Johor, we have seen a 30% drop in the waste received since the start of the MCO,” said Norazlina.

For safety reasons, she said, the company has ceased waste separation for recycling.

“In Selangor, we were conducting waste separation and recycling before the MCO but we have stopped since March 18 to ensure workers’ safety.” – April 20, 2020.