Sustainable Waste Management
Waste management involves collecting, transporting, and disposing of waste to minimise environmental harm. Strategies include recycling, composting, and landfilling, which help reduce waste volume, conserve resources, and mitigate adverse effects on health and ecosystems.
What is sustainable waste management?
Sustainable waste management aims to extend the use of materials and reduce landfill and incineration waste. It is crucial for a circular economy, addressing linear consumption problems and offering practical sustainable waste management solutions.
Waste Reduction Strategies
Sustainable waste management strategies focus on not only removing waste from a facility, but also achieving broader sustainability goals. The 4R principles form the foundation of sustainable waste management, promoting a systematic approach to handling waste with minimal impact.
Reduce
Reduce is the first step in waste management by using efficient processes, fewer resources, and items with minimal packaging. This approach effectively manages waste sustainably and reduces landfill strain.
Reuse
Reuse means using materials multiple times before discarding them, such as repurposing items, repairing instead of replacing, or donating. It extends product life and conserves resources and energy.
Recycle
Recycle converts waste into new materials and objects, involving the collection and processing of items like paper, plastic, glass, and metals. It reduces raw material consumption, energy usage, and greenhouse gas emissions, promoting sustainability.
Recover
Recover extracts valuable materials or energy from waste, through methods like composting, anaerobic digestion, or energy recovery incineration. This process transforms waste into resources, reduces landfill use, and offers alternative energy sources.
Why is sustainable waste important?
Sustainable waste management is crucial as it reduces pollution, conserves natural resources, and offers economic and social benefits. It's essential for industrial and commercial sectors, providing clear environmental, economic, and social advantages.
Environmental Benefits
By reducing waste, conserving resources, and promoting responsible recycling, we can improve air and water quality, lower carbon emissions, and decrease deforestation. Education and effective waste prevention are key to achieving these goals.
Economic Advantages
Adopting efficient resource use in sustainable waste management benefits the economy. Organisations can cut costs by reducing and reusing materials, implementing recycling programs, and recovering energy from waste.
These sustainable waste management practices lower material procurement costs, reduce waste disposal fees, generate revenue, and decrease utility expenses, enhancing profitability and competitiveness.
Social Impact
Sustainable waste management offers social benefits such as improved public health by reducing pollution and enhancing air and water quality. It also creates job opportunities in waste-related sectors, raises environmental awareness, cuts emissions, and reduces transport costs.
Additionally, it promotes eco-friendly disposal methods and actions that benefit the environment.
Ajinomoto Malaysia in Sustainable Waste Management
Ajinomoto Malaysia's proactive and comprehensive approach to sustainable waste management sets a commendable example in the industry, highlighting the tangible benefits of prioritising environmental responsibility.
Reducing Plastic Waste
We ensure product safety with fully automated packaging and are committed to curb plastic waste generation use by adopting recyclable materials.
Aligned with the Ajinomoto Group’s “Zero Waste for Plastic by 2030” target, we are working to minimise plastic pallet usage and switching to mono-material packaging. We also conduct studies for thinner packaging.
Reducing Food Waste
We plan to reduce food waste by 75% by March 31, 2031, through improved manufacturing and recycling. Organic waste will be converted into animal feed and fertiliser.
Waste Management
We prioritise effective waste management by adopting the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover). Our waste segregation centre efficiently sorts plastic, paper, recycled paper, and treated plastic, leaving the rest as general waste.
We also collaborate with third-party and licensed contractors for proper segregation and disposal, ensuring monthly waste management.