household waste, whereas others ask for waste separation into many categories but do not provide containers. For this reason, waste separation at home in many areas in Selangor is more or less based on guessing. REGULATION AND UNIFICATION? Although licenced waste management operators admit that the signing of Act 672 may bring the unification of waste management system which can lead to transparency, they also described major advantages of operating in a nonAct state, such as more freedom and flexibility for their business in terms of where they operate, to whom they can sell the recyclable materials (including price negotiation), and what strategies they use (or tolerate) for getting recyclable material. On the other hand, they are aware of some drawbacks this free system brings, such as fewer financial resources from government, a burden of education of customers and wider public, a lack of infrastructure (e.g., no bins/containers for recyclables are provided unless a company decides to invest in them), and a lack of reliable data on recycled material as semi-legal/illegal operators do not provide this. Another challenge is that some semilegal waste collection centres offer “cash for trash” when some contractors (hired by licenced companies to collect waste) participate in tailgate recycling (sorting household general waste at the time of waste collection, i.e. straight on the collection lorry prior to entering landfill) and selling the material to semilegal recycling centres. This cash for trash can be viewed as a good opportunity for collection workers to get some (unofficial) pocket money or even better sorting of material that would otherwise end up in landfill. However, this can also lead to the mismanagement of waste material (open burning of material, pieces of plastics flying all over the area and entering water courses etc.) as most of this material is already contaminated. A PROBLEM FROM HOME However far away Malaysian waste problems can seem to us, this contamination and mismanagement of materials can be tracked back to our own waste treatment. Most recyclables are still shipped away from our sight, letting usually less developed countries face this problem. This is the case at Klang port, where international plastic waste arrives in huge containers. It is not only Malaysia that has to pay for this waste as material, in case of contamination, can be either sent back (which is usually very difficult and expensive) or disposed of in the nearest landfill which is just about 5km from the ocean and very close to a river entering the sea. In other words, contaminated material usually means a contaminated environment. Only responsible consumption and waste treatment from all of us can start a positive change. Because at the end of the day, the waste in the other parts of the world is our responsibility too. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 33 Dr Lenka Brunclikova is a Teaching Associate in the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology. In collaboration with Sunway University, Malaysia, the PPiPL Pilot Project Malaysia aims at understanding everyday life of postconsumer packaging. Focusing on consumer attitudes as well as waste management actors, the project reveals and identifies drivers, barriers and opportunities for alternative plastic packaging, effective waste recycling systems, and further investment in material recapture. l.brunclikova@lancaster.ac.uk
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