By Wan Hafeeza
The amount of food waste reaching landfills grows each year and peaks during Ramadan. Ummi Kalthum Shuib, the director of the Federal Territories Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) said 47,610kg of food is wasted per day by Ramadan bazaar traders in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.1
This growing concern of food waste had long ago attained the government’s attention. Back in 2022, it was reported that the Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Ministry was preparing a specific law that supports sustainable food waste management.2 The proposed policy was said to be similar to the one’s in Japan and in fact, the project was a collaboration with the Japanese Environment Ministry.
In Malaysia, the available law relating to food waste management could be found in the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672). KPKT back in 2022 stated the law should be reviewed towards a more systematic and comprehensive implementation of food waste management. Section 101(1) of Act 672 does state that the Minister may require any person to limit the generation, import, use, discharge or disposal of specified products or materials. Despite the existence of this provision, the lack of guidelines make it impossible to actually exercise this discretion.
Although Act 672 encourages the habit of 3Rs (reuse, reduce and recycle), there are no provisions that make it mandatory for businesses that generate large amounts of food waste to take necessary measures. Differently in Japan, Articles 7 and 9 of the 2001 Food Recycling Act obligates businesses that generate large amounts of food waste to take measures to reduce and recycle the waste and report their food waste situation to the government periodically.3
It was reported that in Malaysia, the information on food waste management is restricted due to the absence of regular and periodic analysis and documentation at national level from any local authorities.4 The imposition on businesses to report their
food waste situation is believed to be useful to help the authorities efficiently collect more precise data for their further perusal. With the collected data, perhaps the existing Section 101(1) of Act 672 in Malaysia could be utilized better.
The Japanese also had enacted a more recent law in 2019 called the Act on Promotion of Food Loss and Waste Reduction.5 The law was an initiative by the Japanese Government to reduce household food waste in line with the Goal 12.3 of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking about Goal 12.3, it is important to shed some light to the difference between food waste and food loss. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food loss refers to “any food that is lost in the supply chain between the producer and the market. … Food waste, on the other hand, refers to the discarding or alternative (non-food) use of food that is safe and nutritious for human consumption.”6
Putting aside the difference in the terminologies used, what matters most is for the country to start taking a proactive action to reduce the amount of food loss dumped in landfills. The increase of food waste demanded more space for disposing purposes. The increasing demand or need opens opportunities for irresponsible parties to operate illegal dumping services or activities despite the existence of Section 71(1) of Act 672 in Malaysia which prohibits illegal dumping of controlled solid waste.7
The idea of zero waste feels a bit too far-fetched and too idealistic. Nevertheless, a step towards a lesser food waste must be taken. Those with authorities shall be the one to make the first move. In that sense, it is correct for the government to introduce new legislation to curb the issue. Although there is no further news yet regarding the update of the proposed bill, Malaysian environmentalists will patiently wait for one.
Since it is the Ramadan season, the progress of the proposed new legislation should be more stressed. Since there is no news from the authorities, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had taken initial steps such as the project ‘MySaveFood Ramadan’ to reduce the food waste generated from bazaar Ramadan by collecting the unsold food and giving them out to the needy. There is a limit to what NGOs could help the society. With that being said, it is necessary to urge the government to quickly finalize the proposed legislation and follow in Japan’s footsteps towards a better Malaysia.
Bibliography
Aliza Shah & Iylia Marsya Iskandar. (2023). 47,610kg of bazaar food wasted daily
[NSTTV]. New Straits Time. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/04/896764/47610kg-bazaar-food-wasted-daily-nsttv.
Arfa Yunus & Hana Naz Harun. (2022). Govt to come up with act to tackle food wastage, says minister [NSTTV]. New Straits Time. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/08/818940/govt-come-act-tackle-food-wastage-says-minister-nsttv#:~:text=The%20current%20enforcement%20of%20Act,sectors%20and%20the%20construction%20sector.%22.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/en/
Library of Congress. (2019). Japan: Diet Passes New Act Aimed at Reducing Food Loss. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2019-10-09/japan-diet-passes-new-act-aimed-at-reducing-food-loss/#:~:text=Target%2012.3%20calls%20on%20all,wastes%20into%20fertilizer%20and%20feed.
Lim, W. J., Chin, N. L., Yusof, A. Y., Yahya, A. and Tee, T. P. (2016). Food waste handling in Malaysia and comparison with other Asian countries. International Food Research Journal.
Promoting Reduction of Food Loss and Waste. The Consumer Affairs Agency. https://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/201911/201911_09_en.html.
SWCorp intensifying enforcement to combat illegal dumping of construction waste in KL, says director. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/01/11/swcorp-intensifying-enforcement-to-combat-illegal-dumping-of-construction-waste-in-kl-says-director/49677