New Straits Times 2 Nov 14;
IT’S no secret that Malaysians love food, and that is perhaps why food waste makes up 45 per cent of household waste in the country.
Leftover food that ends up rotting in landfills is a large producer of methane, which is said to be 23 times more destructive to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2). Only a low percentage of food waste is composted as most end up in landfills.
Natural Resources and Environment Ministry deputy undersecretary Dr Gary William Theseira (environmental management and climate change division) said Malaysia was ranked about 30th in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and around 50th in the world in terms of per capita greenhouse gas emissions.
“Climate change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions and to stop it, we need to restore atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions to pre-industrial levels by reversing emissions trends,” he said, adding that Malaysians should strive to achieve a zero-waste lifestyle.
Total national waste generation is a whopping 33,130 tonnes a day, with the Klang Valley taking the lead with 10,096 tonnes a day, followed by the northern corridor with 6,724 tonnes a day, and the southern corridor with 6,657 tonnes a day.
Theseira said the greater the economic growth, the greater the emissions.
“We are striving to decouple economic growth from emissions. When we have succeeded in doing so, economic growth can occur without growth in emissions.
“Delinking economic growth from emissions can be seen in highly developed countries, such as some of the European states.”
Theseira said most inorganic waste was recyclable while some organic waste could be recycled into other paper products, and the rest (wood, garden and kitchen waste) could be composted.
He said municipal councils should get involved in the Department of Environment’s e-waste programme to address electronic waste.
The management of natural resources would affect the level of emissions, Theseira said.
“Landfilling of waste is not sustainable because it is associated with a number of environmental hazards, such as water leachate and methane, which is emitted when organic waste decomposes in the absence of air.
“Proper management of organic waste through composting can ensure methane is neither generated nor emitted, or if captured, used as a fuel substitute for fossil fuel.”
When asked about climate change and its impact on Malaysia, Theseira said Malaysia was experiencing floods because of extreme rainfall and extended dry periods.
He said these phenomena were expected to intensify and occur more frequently as the climate continued to change.
“Malaysia doesn’t need to experience extreme weather events to be impacted by them. For example, floods in Thailand’s rice production area can affect Malaysia’s food security.
“Flood mitigation projects are part of the solution. But these need to be augmented by strategies to retain rainwater so that drainage can occur over a longer time and in a more natural manner.
“We also need to enhance land-use planning to allow for the temporary inundation of low-lying areas, which should, when dry, be used as green spaces or for recreation,” he said.
On the recent water shortages that affected thousands of people in the country, Theseira said there should be an integrated management as future dry periods were possible.
“We need to think of our entire country as a rain catchment rather than just specific forest reserves. But there is no such thing as free water. Even if you capture rain in a bucket, you still need to buy the bucket.”
At the recent United Nations summit on climate change, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said Malaysia was committed to cutting carbon emissions but that rich nations should also keep their promise to tackle global warming.
At the 2009 Copenhagen UN climate change conference, Najib had said Malaysia was on track to cut carbon emissions by 40 per cent relative to gross domestic product by 2020.
This pledge was made with the understanding that all parties would honour their commitments to help developing nations in financing and technology transfer.
