Waste treatment in Malaysia: current behaviour towards waste & the future of waste treatment and its minimisation strategies. Case study: the thermal oxidation plant (MINT, Bangi) / Mohammad Ashraf Shamshiri

Malaysia is at present changing into an industrialised nation, making the shift from being a producer of primary commodities like tin and agricultural products in the early 1960s to a maker of manufactured products. The population at present has increased to about 4 times the proportion it was in 1957 (i.e. from about 6,278,800 to around 25 million). (Department of Statistics) It is known that in the year 2000, 63% of Malaysians were urban dwellers and this percentage is expected to rise to 77% by the year 2020. With this increase in population and new technological developments, waste will become more complex and the new waste produced will possess toxins and thus be harmful pollutants to man and his surrounding environment. The objective of this dissertation is to study the nature of solid waste and solid waste treatment methods relative to Malaysia. Apart from looking at how waste is affecting society and their attitudes, we will also be looking at waste treatment methods that can be applied. The method chosen (the Thermal Oxidation Plant - T.O.P.) for the case study will be analysed and criticized against other waste treatment alternatives.