KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry plans to modernise the country's solid waste management by setting up 18 Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants by 2040.

Its minister Nga Kor Ming, told the Dewan Rakyat that the WTE plants can generate up to 600 megawatts of renewable energy.

The initiative, he added, aimed to achieve the targeted 70 per cent renewable energy capacity and reduce carbon emissions by 45 per cent, as outlined in the National Energy Transition Roadmap 2050.

"The WTE concept is widely used worldwide because it is effective in treating and reducing solid waste that is usually sent to disposal sites by up to 85 per cent," he said in Parliament today.

Compared to landfills, Nga said WTE plants did not require huge parcels of land, or produce leachate, smells or methane that would negatively impact public health and the environment.

He also said the ministry would continue to engage stakeholders to identify sustainable and competitive technologies for the plants.

Meanwhile, Nga said although the cost of implementing the WTE model was high, it was more environmentally sustainable than a landfill which requires thousands of acres of land.

"It is a balance between environmental sustainability and a sustainable financial model. We will adopt technologies that have a proven track record and have been effective before utilising them in our country.

"It is also costly to clear a landfill, we would need to spend RM20 million, and it uses up a lot of government resources."

He said this in a reply to a supplementary question from Sim Tze Tzin (Pakatan Harapan-Bayan Baru) in Dewan Rakyat today.

Sim had asked Nga to explain the use of WTE plants to manage waste, which had a higher operating cost compared to landfill sites.

Nga said his ministry would continue raising awareness to the public to support the government's efforts to maintain environmental sustainability and ensure that there were no foul odours, leachate or methane gas escaping from landfills.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/1070781/govt-set-18-waste-energy-plants-2040-says-nga