No data on solid waste dumped in oceans, says department

MUAR: The National Solid Waste Management Department does not have any data on solid waste which is dumped in the country’s oceans

This is because the department’s scope, only covers land areas. Sources from the department told the New Straits Times Press that no research has been made on the matter so far.

However, the source did not deny the existence of such forms of pollution.

He admitted that the dumping of plastic waste into the oceans was likely due to the lack of upgrades made on the current solid waste management system and the usage of plastic by people.

“The garbage and solid waste like plastic come from places outside of Malaysia. This happens as our country is surrounded by the sea.

“Rubbish from surrounding countries flow into our waters. There are some other countries which do not make any effort to dispose of their waste properly,” the source said, while admitting that the issue could not be solved in the short term.

“It is also possible that we (the department) face certain problems when it comes to this matter.

“There are areas which are beyond our publicity scope and those areas do not have any recycling campaigns or waste separation.

“We need to tackle this problem immediately, or else it will become worse and we will have more difficulty solving it in the future,” he said.

The source revealed that Malaysians threw away 42,000 tonnes of solid waste on a daily basis or approximately 1.2 million tonnes every month.

He said of the total solid waste thrown away, 12 per cent involved solid waste made out of plastic.

“Despite the high amounts of solid waste in the country, people have began to accept recycling campaigns and put them into practice.

“At least 21 per cent of our solid waste is recycled now, and we hope the campaign will continue in the future.”