Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic on Solid Waste Generation during Movement Control Order in Peninsular Malaysia

The world had witnessed the various positive environmental implications of nationwide during movement control orders (MCO) brought upon by COVID-19, such as the quality of clean rivers and air. However, these situations are not the same with solid waste management contexts, especially the generation of food waste, plastics, and clinical waste. This study examined the research gap by conducting research based on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for solid waste generation during MCO and the month of Ramadan in Malaysia. This study used the data related to solid waste generation, which was collected from SWCorp and for the COVID-19 cases, the data was collected from the Ministry of Health Malaysia. The data of solid waste generated were collected from January 1st to June 4th at the landfill of 8 states. According to SWCorp data, the trend of solid waste generation during MCO (average 6,601,72 tan metric/day) is lower than before MCO (average 7,566.05 tan metric/day) and during Ramadan (average 6,745.19 tan metric/day). The trend of declining solid waste generation from the industrial sector has drastically decreased; however, domestic solid waste among households has continued to increase at a moderate rate. This study provides information on the amount of solid waste generation in Peninsular Malaysia, especially during the pandemic COVID-19, where it provides the guideline for stakeholders to take relevant strategies towards reducing solid waste generation during and after pandemic COVID-19.