Good Governance Practices in Recycling Programmes

Abstract

Solid waste generation has seen a sharp increase over time as a result of population growth, changes in socio-economic conditions, and lifestyle changes. In Malaysia, we are also facing the same scenario, as a result of which, the solid waste generation has been increasing over time. Improper solid waste management can cause environmental pollution. As such, solid waste management is a challenging problem in the Malaysian context. To tackle this, the government had launched the recycling programme in the year 1993 and had re-launched the programme in the year 2000. Nevertheless, the recycling rate was still found to be low, at 10.5% in the year 2012, and 17.5% in the year 2016. Furthermore, Malaysia has set a recycling target of 22% for the year 2020. The objective of this research is to determine the good governance practices of effectiveness and efficiency, transparency, responsiveness, rule of law, consensus-oriented, responsibility, and participation in recycling programme implementations. A total of 384 respondents were randomly selected as part of the sampling size in the study area. The scope of research is in the areas of Batu Pahat, which are under the administration of SW Corp. SWM Environment has provided the waste collection services here. The method of research used is a survey by a structural questionnaire, analysed by descriptive analysis. The study found that good governance practices are not comprehensively implemented in the recycling programme in Batu Pahat. In general, it was found that the practices of good governance still need further improvement. This paper has recommended the total integration of good governance practices into each level of formulation of the recycling programme, from planning, implementation, to monitoring and improvement.