Binning edible food a ‘grave sin’, says housing minister as nearly 16,000 tonnes tossed daily

In Malaysia, nearly 40% of the 40,000 metric tonnes of daily solid waste comprises food waste, highlighting the need for a collective effort from businesses and consumers to tackle the issue, according to Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

He emphasized aiming for a 40% recycling rate by year-end, supported by successful initiatives like the "Trash to Cash" programme and school-based recycling competitions.

Nga also addressed cable theft, noting the importance of harsher penalties and collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs to prevent disruptions to public services such as the LRT.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Nearly 40 per cent of the 40,000 metric tonnes of solid waste generated in the country daily consists of food waste, according to Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

He said efforts to address the waste issue require the cooperation of all parties through a “whole-of-nation approach” involving both businesses and consumers to collectively change their attitudes and practices.

“This is a form of waste. Food waste is not a crime, but it is a sin. It is a grave sin when edible food is simply thrown away,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Nga said this when replying to a question from Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) regarding the latest developments in efforts to reduce waste sent to landfills and increase recycling rates.

Meanwhile, he expressed confidence that the ministry would achieve its target of exceeding a 40 per cent recycling rate by the end of this year.

Nga noted that under the “Trash to Cash” recycling programme, the total collection of recyclable materials between January and August exceeded 7.86 million kilogrammes (kg), with a sales value of over RM2.85 million.

“Secondly, the zero-waste community initiative involving the establishment of 17 active zero-waste community centres during the same period has collected over 111,504 kg of recyclable materials,” he said.

Additionally, Nga said a school-based recycling competition involving 1,680 schools successfully collected 4.95 million kilogrammes of recyclable materials, which were sold for RM2.98 million.

“Based on calculations of the total collected from 2018 to last year, we managed to gather nearly 20 million kilogrammes of recyclable items, generating proceeds exceeding RM10.22 million,” he said.

Responding to a supplementary question from Mumtaz regarding the specific controls and enforcement actions implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government concerning cable theft, including penalties imposed on third parties or buyers, he said the Cabinet views the issue seriously.

“We constantly collaborate and engage with the Ministry of Home Affairs, including examining the need to amend relevant laws to ensure harsher penalties are imposed on cable theft offenders in the country.

“There have been several instances where LRT (Light Rail Transit) operations were disrupted due to cable theft by syndicates; therefore, this matter (amending laws for heavier penalties) is crucial to ensuring we continue to safeguard public safety and the well-being of the people,” he said. — Bernama

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据马来西亚房屋及地方政府部长倪可敏称，马来西亚每天产生的 4 万吨固体垃圾中，近 40% 是食物垃圾，这凸显了企业和消费者需要共同努力解决这个问题。

他强调，目标是在年底前实现 40% 的回收率，并辅以“变废为宝”计划和学校回收竞赛等成功的举措。

Nga 还谈到了电缆盗窃问题，指出加大处罚力度以及与内政部合作以防止轻轨等公共服务中断的重要性。

吉隆坡，10 月 5 日讯——据房屋及地方政府部长 Nga Kor Ming 称，该国每天产生的 4 万吨固体废物中，近 40% 是食物垃圾。

他表示，解决垃圾问题需要各方合作，采取“举国之力”的方式，让企业和消费者共同改变他们的态度和做法。

“这是一种浪费。浪费食物不是犯罪，但是一种罪过。把可食用的食物直接扔掉，是一种严重的罪过。”他今天在国会下议院的问答环节中说道。

Nga在回答Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi（PN-Tumpat）关于减少送往垃圾填埋场的垃圾和提高回收率的最新进展的问题时说了这番话。

与此同时，他表示有信心该部将在今年年底前实现回收率超过 40% 的目标。

Nga指出，在“变废为宝”回收计划下，1月至8月期间可回收材料的总收集量超过786万公斤，销售额超过285万令吉。

“其次，同期开展的零废弃物社区倡议，包括建立17个活跃的零废弃物社区中心，已收集了超过111504公斤的可回收材料，”他说。

此外，Nga表示，一项有1680所学校参加的校内回收竞赛成功收集了495万公斤可回收材料，并以298万令吉的价格售出。

他说：“根据 2018 年至去年收集的总量计算，我们成功收集了近 2000 万公斤可回收物品，产生的收益超过 1022 万令吉。”

针对穆姆塔兹提出的关于住房和地方政府部针对电缆盗窃实施的具体管控和执法行动（包括对第三方或买家施加的处罚）的补充问题，他表示内阁非常重视这个问题。

“我们不断与内政部合作和交流，包括审查是否需要修改相关法律，以确保对该国的电缆盗窃罪犯处以更严厉的处罚。

“轻轨运营曾多次因犯罪团伙盗窃电缆而中断；因此，此事（修订法律以加重处罚）对于确保我们继续维护公共安全和人民福祉至关重要，”他说道。——马新社

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目前尚无强制性的电子领事登记制度，但外交部长希望海外马来西亚公民注册，以便在紧急情况下更容易联系到亲友。