Food waste during Ramadan increasing annually, laments deputy minister

ISKANDAR PUTERI: The amount of solid waste, in particular food waste, collected by the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) during Ramadan is increasing every year.

Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said that 252,521 tonnes of solid waste were collected during Ramadan last year compared with 208,143 tonnes in 2019.

(Solid and food waste figures for 2021 and 2020 were unavailable during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the Movement Control Order).

“The amount increases every year and, in the past five years, we have seen an increase of up to 21 per cent. From the ministry’s point of view, the first step is to reduce the amount of food waste.

“Based on the data provided, a total of 44.5 per cent of solid waste collected was food waste and that number is quite substantial in terms of value,” he told a press conference after opening the Johor SWM Environment Operations in conjunction with Aidilfitri this year, last night.

Also present were Johor Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, SWCorp chief executive officer Ismail Mokhtar and SWM Environment general manager Mohd Norlisam Mohd Nordin.

Meanwhile, Norlisam said 4,475 SWM Environment workers, with 588 machines including compactor trucks, open tipper lorries, and Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) trucks, will be deployed during the Hari Raya festive period.

“The operation will focus on solid waste collection, especially in 150 areas, including those with high population density, city centres and main roads,” he said.

He advised residents not to place any obstacles along the path of the compactor trucks, including near the location of waste bins, to ensure smoother domestic waste collection.

Bernama