Bags, bins and beyond: Recycling while you shop

The Star

4 days ago

IT'S early Saturday morning and already there are a few people trickling into the empty carpark.
Lugging bags brimming with empty water bottles and paper cartons, they are in the basement carpark of one of the largest shopping malls in the Klang Valley to use the recycling facility there, and to garner points which they can then exchange for vouchers.
Almost everything recyclable is accepted here – aluminium, drink cartons, polystyrene containers, clothes, metal, cardboard, paper, and plastic.
The facility also collects e-waste such as batteries and electronic gadgets, and even medicine – although, sadly, the last will not generate any points.
Asked why they choose to drive here to recycle their waste, the usual answer is, 'Because it's convenient'.
It's shopping malls like this that the Housing and Local Government Ministry is hoping others in the retail industry will emulate in the drive to get more Malaysians to recycle.
On July 22, Minister Nga Kor Ming told the Dewan Rakyat that malls nationwide will have to provide recycling facilities on their premises to obtain business licences beginning from next year.
This, he said, is part of the ongoing initiative to ensure a cleaner Malaysia following success in restricting the use of single use plastic bags last year.
'But there is room for improvement and as such the National Circular Economy Council has decided that beginning Jan 1 next year, all shopping malls must be equipped with recycling facilities.
'They must provide such facilities which will become a condition for their business licence.
'Shopping malls that do not have such facilities will not be given business licences by the local councils,' he said when wrapping up debate on the Street, Drainage, and Building (Amendment) Bill 2025.
By itself, such a proposal makes sense because research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology suggests that people are 46% more likely to recycle when bins are conveniently placed and colour-coded to clearly indicate different waste types.
And with Malaysians' obvious love for shopping – we spent the most on shopping when travelling within the country last year, according to the Statistics Department – what better place or how more convenient can it get than to have recycling facilities in malls?
That, along with simplifying the recycling process and providing clear guidance, has been touted by environmentalists as the gold standard in promoting and increasing the habit.
It's increasingly important that we recycle more. While Malaysia's national recycling rate increased from 35.38% in 2023 to 37.9% last year, we are still generating waste faster than we recycle. At this rate, 21 landfills managed by waste management company SWCorp are set to hit full capacity between this year and 2041. A shopaholic's paradise
A recycling spot at the Sunway Pyramid mall. Sunway Malls CEO Chan maintains that space must be considered when requiring such facilities to be made available because waste segregation requires a properly controlled environment and suitable space to prevent contamination and pest infestation. — KAMARUL ARIFFIN/The Star According to the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, as of the end of last year, the country had an estimated 490 shopping malls. When stand-alone hypermarkets, supermarkets, and market or bazaar centres are included, this number rises to 733.
Of these, smaller premises measuring roughly below 4.5ha made up 81.5%.
While the malls are pretty evenly distributed across Malaysia, they are concentrated around the peninsula's central region and in the Klang Valley.
Malls in Malaysia aren't just shopping destinations – they have cinemas and arcades, food courts, spas, and even an ice skating rink or two. And they are big generators of waste (see graphic).
One study undertaken by Singapore's National Environment Agency calculated that the total waste generation in malls with a net lettable area of more than 4,600sq m was 47kg per square metre in 2018.
Operators of large shopping malls in the republic, by the way, have been tracking and submitting waste data and waste reduction plans to the agency since 2014.
Phang: We would actually like to collaborate with the authorities to work out incentives for wider compliance among our mall members. The Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, declares president Phang Sau Lian, fully supports having recycling facilities on members' premises but feels that it should be voluntary to start with. It is also urging the Housing and Local Government Ministry to give its members a longer grace period for compliance if such facilities are deemed mandatory.
'We would actually like to collaborate with the authorities to work out incentives for wider compliance among our mall members.
'We have already written to the ministry for more guidelines and are awaiting their response,' she replies in an e-mail to questions from The Star.
Many of the association's members, Phang points out, already have recycling facilities on their premises but the association 'hopes that it will be more widely undertaken', adding that the practice is part of the association's waste management strategy to promote a greener environment.
However, she argues that the success of the endeavour requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders – landlords, tenants, consumers, communities, and local governments.
'Support from the authorities through clear guidelines; proper supporting facilities and infrastructure; collaboration among tenants, suppliers, and community leaders in awareness campaigns; and continuous advocacy is essential.
'It is important to have joint efforts among all stakeholders in raising awareness and driving advocacy together to achieve a meaningful impact.
'We look forward to new recycling guidelines to be implemented by the ministry, but would appreciate greater clarity to ensure smooth implementation and to avoid unnecessary penalties to businesses,' she says. How would it work in practice?
Chan: What is important is that clear guidance on scope and guidelines are defined well for all the malls in the industry. Sunway Malls chief executive officer HC Chan agrees, pointing out that the ministry's intention is certainly noble and timely in light of the worsening effects of climate change and the need to reduce waste going to polluting landfills.
'While the intention is clear, what is important is that clear guidance on scope and guidelines are defined well for all the malls in the industry.
'This is important to ensure better clarity among stakeholders. In addition, the scope can and should be flexible as recycling effectiveness varies significantly based on the mall's management policy, operator maturity, and tenant mix,' he states.
It will be good for the government, adds Chan, to also consider incentivising green practices as an inducement for greater adoption.
Such an approach would then not be dependent solely on penalties as a change-inducing tool, he remarks.
Sunway, says Chan, has always been a strong advocate of sustainability, with many sustainable practices embedded in its vision, strategy, and operations. Its malls were among the first to have recycling facilities on their premises
'It is important that we demonstrate a tangible commitment to our ESG,' he adds, referring to environmental, social and governance principles.
Chan explains that larger, more well- established malls would already have some form of recycling facilities on their premises while those without would have appointed vendors to segregate their waste, with some extending their recycling initiatives to the community to maximise volume by adding the collection of fabric, e-waste, and plastic bottles.
This is because waste segregation often requires a properly controlled environment and suitable space to prevent contamination and pest infestation.
'While the approaches differ, the objective remains essentially the same – to recycle and cut down on waste,' Chan says.
Asked if having recycling facilities at malls would encourage shoppers to sort and turn in their waste, he says the biggest contributors to recycling waste remain mall tenants. In Sunway Malls alone, they divert 120 tonnes of waste from the landfill every month.
'Recycling facilities, and campaigns or initiatives are just one component out of many in waste reduction.
'We found in our earlier studies that educating retailers remains key to successful ESG initiatives.
'Without knowledge, there is no application even with the best of facilities provided,' says Chan.
Two years ago, Sunway Malls launched a Sustainability Collaboration Alliance Network, a five-way partnership, which includes the Malaysia Retail Association and the Malaysia Retail Chain Associat- ion, and is aimed at transforming the retail industry to become more sustainable. Does size matter?
Staff working the 'food digester' at the recycling centre in a Sunway mall to help F&B tenants with the large amount of food waste they generate. The machine will give the waste new life as compost, which is then packed and left for the public to pick up – for free – at designated spots. — Sunway Malls Asked if the ministry's proposal should be implemented in malls of all sizes, Chan replies that he thinks it is best to carry out a proper waste audit first to identify the needs of each establishment instead of imposing a blanket implementation for all.
'We wish to reiterate that the recycling facility initiative needs to be flexible and robust whether it is applied onsite or offsite. The focus should be on the end result rather than the means,' he says.
Based on Sunway Malls' experience, Chan says either a basic recycling facility or outsourced vendor should be sufficient for mid-sized malls whereas a smaller sized mall may only require responsible and committed waste vendors. Larger-sized malls, on the other hand, may require additional segregation efforts such as food waste management and water management.
'In Sunway Malls' context, malls above one million square feet in net lettable area, such as Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Carnival, have the capacity to include a recycling facility on their premises, whereas those under one million square feet practise recyclables collection and appoint waste vendors to sort and recycle the collection with proper documentation and data in place,' Chan says.
'On top of recycling efforts, both Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Velocity also have a food digester on their premises as both malls have identified food waste as a major waste contributor,' he adds.
The food digester turns food waste into soil, which is then used for landscaping and given to the public for free.
In Phang's opinion, the requirement for recycling facilities should be implemented across malls of all sizes.
'It should be for all malls as recycling is a community initiative and all malls serve their own communities and beyond,' she says.
Phang says today, malls are no longer just places for shopping – they are experiential spaces that serve multiple functions, from shopping and dining to leisure spaces, education, and community interaction.
Having recycling facilities in malls will certainly increase awareness, Phang points out, adding that she hopes the authorities can organise road shows in malls to encourage shoppers not only to recycle but also upcycle.
'With their reach and influence, malls can play an important role in educating the public on recycling and sustainability, complementing efforts made in schools and academic institutions.
'Hence, instead of imposing penalties, the ministry should consider incentivising recycling efforts to encourage greater participation, especially from smaller malls or strata malls for long-term success for everyone.'