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Solid waste collection and recycling in Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia: A case
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 Waste Management & Research
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Solid waste collection and recycling in Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia: a case study
M. Hasnain Isa, Faridah A. H. Asaari, N. Azam Ramli, Shamshad Ahmad and Tan S. Siew
Waste Management Research 2005; 23; 565
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X05059803

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© 2005 International Solid Waste Association. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
Waste Manage Res 2005: 23: 565–570
Printed in UK – all right reserved
Solid waste collection and recycling in Nibong
Tebal, Penang, Malaysia: a case study
The implementation of a suitable solid waste management
programme with appropriate methods of recycling as an
inherent element is vital to the alleviation of the problems
associated with solid waste generation, handling and disposal,
environmental conservation, public hygiene, etc. The present
work is a case study on solid waste collection and recycling
practices in Nibong Tebal town, Penang, Malaysia. The amount
and types of domestic waste generated, household participa-
tion in recycling, identification of existing problems related
to the implementation of the recycling programme, etc. formed
the basis of this study. Surveys (interviews/questionnaires)
and on-site observations were conducted to gather informa-
tion on the solid waste collection and recycling practice of
the residents. A focus group of 60 individuals was selected
and their response to a questionnaire, prepared according to a
Likert scale, was obtained and analysed. The majority of the
respondents expressed concerns about recycling and wanted
more to be done in this regard. Illegal collection, aestheti-
cally displeasing sites and a lack of public awareness were
problems of major concern. Issues related to inadequate fund-
ing and manpower as well as end market are also addressed
and suggestions made.
Introduction
Solid waste (SW), in addition to being an environmental nui-
sance, could require an exceedingly large investment for its
handling. The Malaysian Government needed to spend Malay-
sian Ringgit (RM) 0.06 (or US$ 0.016) per kilogram waste
per day to deal with the country’s average daily waste genera-
tion of 0.8 kg/capita (Tean 2001). With a population of 23
million (year 2000 census), this corresponds to a staggering
RM 400 million (or US$ 105 million) per year. This has
finally led to the Government’s strong desire to raise environ-
mental awareness in its population. It is envisaged that an
environmentally conscious population with a sense of respon-
sibility towards its surroundings will have a more positive atti-
Downloaded from http://wmr.sagepub.com by Mohamed Hasnain Isa on November 4, 2007
© 2005 International Solid Waste Association. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
Copyright © ISWA 2005
Waste Management & Research
ISSN 0734–242X
M. Hasnain Isa
Faridah A. H. Asaari
N. Azam Ramli
Shamshad Ahmad
School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti
Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong, Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Tan S. Siew
Enersave Engineering Systems, 13600 Prai, Penang, Malaysia
Keywords: Municipal solid waste, collection, recycling, survey,
Likert scale, severity index, wmr 763
Corresponding author: M. Hasnain Isa, School of Civil
Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains
Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: (604) 593 7788, ext 6217; fax: (604) 594 1009;
e-mail: mhisa@eng.usm.my
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X05059803
Received 26 May 2005; accepted in revised form 7 September 2005
Figures 4, 5 appear in colour online: http://wmr.sagepub.com
tude towards the ever-growing waste-handling and disposal
problems as well as environmental protection and preservation.
The implementation of a suitable solid waste management
programme with appropriate methods of recycling as an inher-
ent element is central to the alleviation of the problems asso-
ciated with solid waste generation, handling and disposal,
environmental conservation, public hygiene, etc. Such a
programme should include waste minimization, reuse, recy-
cling and energy recovery as well as safe disposal. In other
words, solid waste management encompasses all activities
related to the handling of solid waste including administra-
tive, legal, financial, planning and engineering.
Waste Management & Research 565
M. Hasnain Isa, F.A.H. Asaari, T.S. Siew, N. Azam Ramli, S. Ahmad

The present work is a case study on the solid waste collec-
tion and recycling practices in Nibong Tebal town, Penang,
Malaysia. The amount and types of domestic waste generated,
household participation behaviour in recycling, identifica-
tion of existing problems related to the implementation of
the recycling programme, etc. formed the basis of this study.
Solid waste management in Nibong Tebal
The Sebarang Perai Municipality is responsible for the col-
lection of municipal solid waste (MSW) from the residential
and commercial premises in Nibong Tebal. The Municipality
hires private contractors and coordinates them for waste col-
lection. Compactor vehicles with working capacities of about
4 tonnes are used for collecting the waste. Generally, this area
employs the stationary container system for waste collection;
that is, the waste containers remain at the point of waste
generation.
Currently there is no transfer station in Nibong Tebal as
the town is small. MSW is collected and taken by collection
trucks directly to the landfill site in Pulau Burung for dis-
posal. The disposal site operates 6 days a week; Monday to
Saturday. The weighing-bridge records show that an average
of 500–600 tonnes per day of waste generated from the area
is dumped at the site (Tan 2003).
It is generally accepted that proper handling of waste is
essential for public well-being and environmental protection.
However, the common attitude is that having paid the tax,
all responsibilities related to waste handling rests with the
local authorities (Ridhuan 1994).
Waste management constraints and problems
Common factors that may hinder any waste management pro-
gramme include (but are not limited to) the following items.
• Lack of proper waste disposal sites; thus increasing trans-
fer, treatment and disposal costs.
• Lack of expertise and manpower to run the programme.
• Indifference of the population towards waste reduction
and recycling.
• Illegal waste dumping practice.
• Inefficient use of resources (money, equipment, manpower,
time, etc.).
Waste recycling
The importance of waste recycling cannot be overstressed as
it leads to the reduction of MSW treatment and disposal
costs as well as the prolongation of landfill life-span and con-
servation of the environment. Although often unrealized
and overlooked, as noted by Ruiz (2001), recycling is a
method of SW management like landfilling or incineration
but is environmentally more desirable.
Malaysia, for example, imports recycled waste from other
countries to produce its own recycled products (The Star
2003). Recycling can help the economy by recovering and
reusing valuable materials. It can provide a multitude of jobs
covering a wide spectrum of different expertise levels and
types such as drivers, machine operators, engineers, consult-
ants, accountants, etc.
The key players in the recycling business are consumers/
generators, scavengers, collectors, middlemen/traders, manu-
facturers and buyers. Locally, the role of municipalities is
often minimal as most of the major recycling activities are
carried out on an informal basis. The various entities
involved in the recycling process together with the authori-
ties, need to work together to ensure effective waste recy-
cling. Table 1 shows the contributions of each stakeholder in
the recycling process (Tean 2001).

• Non-availability of adequate funds, as waste handling is

lower down the priority list when compared with other
Methodology
issues such as infrastructure development and industriali- The present study is based on surveys (interviews/question-
zation. naires) and on-site observations. Residents of the study area

Table 1: Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders of recycling

Stakeholders Roles and responsibilities

Government
Consumers and waste generators
Privatized waste management companies
Industry and trade (end market)
• Set clear goals and policies on recycling.
• Conduct or support sorted collection of waste for their reuse and recycle.
• Improve recycling conditions.
• Implement measures with emphasis on workability and public consensus building.
• Provide cooperation on sorted collection of wastes.
• Use environmental friendly products.
• Provide basic facilities for storage of recyclable materials.
• Collect SW efficiently.
• Transport the recyclable material to traders/industries.
• Manufacturer, distribute and sell, recycled products.
• Provides cooperation between manufacturing industries.
• Promotes technology development.

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 Solid waste collection and recycling in Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

Table 2: Study areas in Nibong Tebal. The response was analysed by using frequency analysis
No. Areas Selected households
and severity index. The answers to questions were displayed
on a 0 to 4 point scale. The severity index (SI) was calcu-
1. Taman Berjaya 4
lated based on the following equation (Al-Hammad & Assaf
2. Taman Bukit Panchor 13
1996):
3. Taman Cenderawasih 10 4
4. Taman Nibong Tebal 8 ∑ ai xi
i=0
5. Taman Sentosa 10 4
- ( 100% )
SI = ---------------
6. Taman Sri Maju 10 4 ∑ xi
i=0
7. Taman Sri Nibong 5
where ai is the index of a class; constant expressing the
weight given to the class; xi is the frequency of response;
were interviewed and their SW collection procedure and i = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and described as below: x0, x1, x2, x3, x4 are the
recycling practice was monitored. frequencies of response corresponding to a0 = 0, a1 = 1, a2 = 2,
a3 = 3, a4 = 4, respectively.
Study area and group The rating classification was as under Majid & McCaffer
To accomplish the objectives of this study, information on (1997):
the current state of affairs especially on government cam-
paigns and public attitude and response was gathered. In order a0 strongly disagree 0.00 ≤ SI < 12.5
to assess the local attitude towards the existing collection sys- a1 disagree 12.5 ≤ SI < 37.5
tem and recycling campaigns, a small focus group was ran- a2 neutral 37.5 ≤ SI < 62.5
domly chosen to represent the target population. These indi- a3 agree 62.5 ≤ SI < 87.5
viduals were questioned to obtain information on a wide a4 strongly agree 87.5 ≤ SI ≤ 100
range of SW collection and recycling-related issues. Seven
residential areas of Nibong Tebal (total 2500 households) Similar analyses could be performed when the ratings are
were identified for the study and 60 households within them defined differently. For example, based on how frequently an
were selected as samples (focus group). Table 2 shows the res- activity is performed, a rating of never (a0 = 0), seldom
idential areas and the number of households in each area that (a1 = 1), sometimes (a2 = 2), often (a3 = 3) and very often/
were chosen for the study. always (a4 = 4) can be adopted.

Data collection and analysis

There were two main methods of data collection, namely
Results and discussions
interviews and on-site observations. Based on a question- Figures 1 and 2 show the distributions of the respondents,
naire, one-to-one interviews were conducted with members according to age group and family size. The respondents were
of the focus group in order to obtain information on the resi- aged 15 and above with 6.7% of them within the age range
dents’ general opinion on the SW collection system and 15 to 20 years. In other words, the subjects were predomi-
recycling practice. The questionnaire was prepared follow- nantly mature adults. About 8, 77 and 15% of the respond-
ing the Likert scale to obtain simplified feedback from the
respondents. The Likert scale involves the use of intensity
questions/statements to measure the strength of a respond-
ent’s opinion on a topic or issue. Typically, respondents are
provided with several statement options (e.g. strongly disa-
gree, disagree, neutral, agree and strongly agree) that they
may choose from in order to rate their responses. The ques-
tionnaire used in this study covered information related to
the personal background of the respondents, SW collection
efficiency in the area, recycling practices of the respond-
ents, public opinion and attitude towards the waste problem,
SW composition and environmental value and education.
Only the responses to the questions directly related to the
scope of the present study have been analysed and discussed
below. Fig. 1: Age group of respondents.

Waste Management & Research 567

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© 2005 International Solid Waste Association. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
M. Hasnain Isa, F.A.H. Asaari, T.S. Siew, N. Azam Ramli, S. Ahmad

Fig. 2: Family size of respondents. Fig. 3: Occupation of respondents.

ents had the number of family members in the ranges of 1 to Category (c) – attitude and recycling habits of respondents.
3, 4 to 6 and 7 to 9, respectively. Category (d) – types of waste recycled.
The data on occupation (Figure 3) showed that most of
the respondents were business people (32%) followed by stu- On the point scale, the ratings given to these categories
dents (22%). Housewives and taxi drivers constituted 18%. were:
Professionals such as engineers, lawyers, accountants, etc.
made up 8% and the remaining 20% included those working Category (a): strongly disagree (0), disagree (1), neutral (2),
with the Government, in academic institutions, the technol- agree (3), and strongly agree (4).
ogy and manufacturing sectors, etc., as well as retired people. Category (b): very bad (0), bad (1), neutral (2), minor prob-
Waste collection and recycling-related questions from the lem (3), and no problem (4).
questionnaire were grouped into the following four catego- Categories (c) and (d): never (0), seldom (1), sometimes (2),
ries for the sake of analysis. often (4), and very often/always (4).

Category (a) – present SW collection system. Table 3 demonstrates the calculation of severity indices
Category (b) – public opinion and perception. from the feed-back of respondents for category (a), the

Table 3: Respondents feedback towards the present SW collection

Frequency analysisa
SDA DA N A SA Severity index (SI)
No. Item (0) (1) (2) (3) (4) (%)
1. Collection sites are in good and clean NRb 4 14 27 15 0 47.1c
condition PR 6.7 23.3 45.0 25.0 0.0
2. Collection frequency (3 times per week) NR 1 5 25 27 2 56.3
is satisfying PR 1.7 8.3 41.7 45.0 3.3
3. Collection method is satisfying NR 2 11 19 26 2 60.0
PR 3.3 18.3 31.7 43.3 3.3
4. Government must enforce source NR 2 5 19 30 4 62.9
separation programmes PR 3.3 8.3 31.7 50.0 6.7
5. Government must provide resource NR 2 3 20 32 3 62.1
recycling facilities PR 3.3 5.0 33.3 53.3 5.0
6. More programmes on recycling should NR 1 2 18 28 11 69.2
be provided PR 1.7 3.3 30.0 46.7 18.3
a
SDA, strongly disagree; DA, disagree; N, neutral; A, agree; SA, strongly agree.
b
NR, number of respondents, PR, percentage of respondents.
0 ( 4 ) + 1 ( 14 ) + 2 ( 27 ) + 3 ( 15 ) + 4 ( 0 )
c
Sample calculation: SI = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ × 100 = 47.1%
4 × 60

568 Waste Management & Research

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© 2005 International Solid Waste Association. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
 Solid waste collection and recycling in Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

Fig. 4: (a) Survey results on present solid waste collection system (RP, more recycling programmes should be provided; SSP, the Government must
enforce source separation programmes; RRF, the Government must provide resource recycling facilities; CF, present collection frequency is satisfac-
tory; CM, present collection method is satisfactory; CS, collection sites are in good and clean conditions. (b) Public opinion and perception (CT,
collection on time; IC, illegal collection; AP, aesthetic problem; PA, public awareness to protect the environment. (c) Attitude and recycling habits of
respondents (RSB, how often do you reuse shopping bags? RH, how often do you recycle at home? WS, how often do you separate your waste?)
(d) Types of waste recycled (how often do you recycle these materials?).

present SW collection system. The results of severity index
analyses for all four categories are shown in Figure 4a–d.
Regarding the present SW collection system, Figure 4a,
most of the values of the severity index were within the neu-
tral opinion range, namely 37.5 ≤ SI < 62.5. For the authori-
ties, however, this can at best only be taken as a cause for
relief and not for complacency. The reason being that at this
level a slight change could tip the balance to the undesirable
side. The authorities need to pay more attention to improve-
ment of the existing SW collection system. This may include
enforcing source separation programmes and providing mate-
rial recovery facilities (MRFs). The respondents appear to
feel the need of a resource recycling facility to be provided by
the Government. The highest severity index obtained in this
category, 69.2%, actually suggests that the residents would
welcome more programmes on recycling.
From Figure 4b it is noted that the respondents were
clearly not happy with the waste dumping-related aesthetic
problems and concur with the opinion that there is a lack of
awareness in the public concerning the care of the environ-
ment. Problems related to illegal collection and failure to
collect on time were also of some concern, although not as
much as the earlier ones.
Figure 4c shows clear enthusiasm and support for recy-
cling among the respondents. Waste separation at home,
however, was generally neglected. Thus, a programme
directed towards the dissemination of waste separation
knowledge and information needs to be implemented.
It was observed that the residents do practice recycling to
some degree. Commonly recycled materials in descending
order are paper, plastic, cardboards, aluminium/tin cans and
glass (Figure 4d).
The amount of SW generated in the residential areas of
Nibong Tebal was found to be about 0.6 kg/capita per day.
With the national average at 0.8 kg/capita per day, this figure
seems reasonable as Nibong Tebal is a small developing town
and therefore the waste generation rate is expected to be
lower. Figure 5 shows the percentage distribution of different

Waste Management & Research 569

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 M. Hasnain Isa, F.A.H. Asaari, T.S. Siew, N. Azam Ramli, S. Ahmad
Fig. 5: Solid waste composition of Nibong Tebal.
waste components. Most of the waste consisted of food waste
(52%) followed by paper and plastics at 16.5 and 15%,
respectively. The remaining 16.5% comprised yard waste,
textile, wood, glass and aluminium/tin cans.
In the survey for willingness to pay for SW collection, the
response was split half and half. The 50% who refused to pay
held the opinion that waste management is the responsibility
of the Government and therefore they should not be required
to pay for it. This appeared to be an attitude problem.
Despite that, there were indications that most of the respond-
ents would be willing to pay if they are satisfied with the
waste collection system and practice.
Conclusions
The majority of the respondents were found to be concerned
about recycling. They felt that the Government should
enforce source separation and provide resource recycling
facilities. They also agreed that more campaigns on recycling
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570 Waste Management & Research
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© 2005 International Solid Waste Association. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
View publication stats
needed to be conducted. In other words, they were willing to
support any such activity or campaign.
The problems of greatest concern were those of illegal col-
lection, aesthetics and lack of public awareness. Illegal col-
lections can affect the normal recycling programme as well as
the aesthetics of the area. Such collectors or scavengers
would collect what they deem valuable and leave the place
messy and dirty. More bins dedicated to recyclable materials
are required and at the same time the residents need to be
educated about their proper use.
Inadequate funding and manpower could be constraints in
the SW management programme. Despite the reluctance of
half of the respondents to pay for SW handling, it is felt that
such a step is necessary and that funds should be generated
by the Government through taxation.
The willingness of end-market to absorb recyclable mate-
rials is directly influenced by the demand for recycled prod-
ucts. Therefore, to help market expansion, the Government
might set up procurement policies and develop recycling pro-
grammes. This can be done by encouraging the use of ‘green
products’ amongst the public. In addition, the end market
also needs a reliable, high-volume and high-quality stream of
constant recyclable material to maintain the supply channel.
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encouraged. In this regard, it may be beneficial and may
enhance participation if industries that support the recycling
programme by using recyclable materials are rewarded with
incentives such as tax exemption or rebate.
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management, it is imperative to collectively (not individu-
ally) take into consideration all entities that are part of the
overall picture and their relationships, both technical and
non-technical. Only then will a viable, effective and success-
ful solution emerge.
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