An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia
There is a significant increase in plastic consumption with the growing economies of Asia, causing severe environmental issues as a large proportion of the plastic waste is not appropriately disposed due to the underdeveloped collection systems. The situation in Malaysia is particularly worrying as...
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| Format: | Article |
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Fuji Technology Press
2022
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| _version_ | 1796866969661603840 |
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| author | Tan, Ming Hui Chiong, Meng Soon Chun, Yoon Young Tsukahara, Kenichiro Tahara, Kiyotaka |
| author_facet | Tan, Ming Hui Chiong, Meng Soon Chun, Yoon Young Tsukahara, Kenichiro Tahara, Kiyotaka |
| author_sort | Tan, Ming Hui |
| collection | ePrints |
| description | There is a significant increase in plastic consumption with the growing economies of Asia, causing severe environmental issues as a large proportion of the plastic waste is not appropriately disposed due to the underdeveloped collection systems. The situation in Malaysia is particularly worrying as the total plastic waste increased by nearly 30% in 2018, becoming the second-highest of the entire household solid waste. This problem can be addressed by improving the plastic waste management system and increasing the plastic wastes recycling rate. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the current situation of plastic waste generation. Malaysia’s waste management framework is a unique integration of the formal and informal sectors. The lack of uniformity has been the main challenge for the policy implementation in improving plastic waste management. From the plastic material flow analysis, only 41.4% of the plastic wastes were recycled in 2019. The most recycled plastic types in Malaysia are high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), lowdensity polyethylene (LDPE), and polypropylene (PP), as they are easier to collect and have higher density. From the identified plastic recycling process flow, the main challenge is low recyclability. Most recyclables are usually contaminated with food waste or non-recyclable plastic, which hinders the sorting process. Informing the public how to recycle plastic waste properly can increase the effectiveness of recyclables collection as well as the sorting process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-05T21:20:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | utm.eprints-100932 |
| institution | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - ePrints |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-05T21:20:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Fuji Technology Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | utm.eprints-1009322023-05-18T04:34:01Z http://eprints.utm.my/100932/ An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia Tan, Ming Hui Chiong, Meng Soon Chun, Yoon Young Tsukahara, Kenichiro Tahara, Kiyotaka TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery There is a significant increase in plastic consumption with the growing economies of Asia, causing severe environmental issues as a large proportion of the plastic waste is not appropriately disposed due to the underdeveloped collection systems. The situation in Malaysia is particularly worrying as the total plastic waste increased by nearly 30% in 2018, becoming the second-highest of the entire household solid waste. This problem can be addressed by improving the plastic waste management system and increasing the plastic wastes recycling rate. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the current situation of plastic waste generation. Malaysia’s waste management framework is a unique integration of the formal and informal sectors. The lack of uniformity has been the main challenge for the policy implementation in improving plastic waste management. From the plastic material flow analysis, only 41.4% of the plastic wastes were recycled in 2019. The most recycled plastic types in Malaysia are high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), lowdensity polyethylene (LDPE), and polypropylene (PP), as they are easier to collect and have higher density. From the identified plastic recycling process flow, the main challenge is low recyclability. Most recyclables are usually contaminated with food waste or non-recyclable plastic, which hinders the sorting process. Informing the public how to recycle plastic waste properly can increase the effectiveness of recyclables collection as well as the sorting process. Fuji Technology Press 2022 Article PeerReviewed Tan, Ming Hui and Chiong, Meng Soon and Chun, Yoon Young and Tsukahara, Kenichiro and Tahara, Kiyotaka (2022) An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia. International Journal of Automation Technology, 16 (6). pp. 831-837. ISSN 1881-7629 http://dx.doi.org/10.20965/ijat.2022.p0831 DOI: 10.20965/ijat.2022.p0831 |
| spellingShingle | TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery Tan, Ming Hui Chiong, Meng Soon Chun, Yoon Young Tsukahara, Kenichiro Tahara, Kiyotaka An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia |
| title | An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia |
| title_full | An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia |
| title_short | An analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in Malaysia |
| title_sort | analysis of practices and challenges for plastic recycling industry in malaysia |
| topic | TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery |
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