12MP: New regulation on e-waste to be introduced

KUALA LUMPUR: A new regulation on household electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) will be introduced to implement the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for e-waste, according to the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) document released today.

EPR is a policy approach where producers are held responsible for the treatment and disposal of post-consumer products, either through self-undertaking or financial contribution.

The document stated that assigning such responsibility will incentivise producers to reduce waste at the source and promote the production of environment-friendly products.

The EPR approach will also be extended to cover other types and streams of waste, particularly packaging materials and single-use plastics, the document said.

"Relevant regulations, economic instruments and monitoring mechanisms will be put in place to enable producers and retailers to implement the EPR for other types of waste.

"Implementation of EPR will be supported through the take-back system by producers or brand owners as well as the adoption of the user-pay and polluter-pay principles," the document said.

In moving towards zero-waste, the document noted that solid waste management would also be strengthened to ensure compliance with existing standards, in which the enforcement of waste separation at source and the implementation of the 3R initiatives would be intensified.

For this purpose, the provision of waste collection, separation and recycling facilities will be increased.

Meanwhile, states which have not adopted the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007 will be encouraged to formulate or amend the relevant by-laws or ordinances to ensure all types of waste are managed holistically.

The government will also develop a comprehensive database for all types of waste for better monitoring and to support the circular economy initiatives.

In order to further enhance the effectiveness of waste management, a number of integrated waste management facilities will be constructed, incorporating a material recovery facility to sort and separate waste; treatment facility, including anaerobic digester, composter and incinerator; as well as a sanitary landfill.

"The construction of these integrated facilities will enable treatment of about 95 per cent of waste and only five per cent will be disposed at sanitary landfills. Over time, all open landfills will be safely closed and import of waste will be ceased," it said.

According to the document, existing legislation, including the Environmental Quality Act (Act 127) and the Customs Act 1967 will be reviewed to enable stringent and robust enforcement, monitoring and control of waste imports and exports, besides other environmental and emerging issues.

Meanwhile, in enabling immediate action to be taken against environmental criminals, a special task force formed in September last year will be empowered to enforce Act 127 and the Water Services Industry Act 2006.

Apart from Act 127, the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and the Poison Act 1952 will also be reviewed, and a new regulation will be introduced to minimise the risks of chemical and hazardous substances waste.

"Under this new regulation, notification and reporting of production, import, export, utilisation and management of these substances will be made mandatory," it stated.

-- BERNAMA