ASSIGNMENT 3 – Cost Benefit Analysis Case Study
Waste Management in Malaysia: Students are required to address the issue, perform additional research and put on in-depth analysis based on the given information from the case study. You may present your answer not more than 3000 words. ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Introduction
Waste is generally defined as material that is unwanted by a user and intentionally thrown away for disposal. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a category of assorted waste; produced from varying sources such as residential, commercial, municipal services and agriculture. In general, a trend can be seen that countries with low income have lower waste generation rates while high income countries such as Japan or Korea has higher waste generation from robust construction and development. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that waste management is a problem in developing countries like Malaysia.
In 1995, Malaysians were reported to have a gross national product (GNP) of US$3,890 and a current urban municipal solid waste (MSW) generation of 0.81 kg/capita/day. In 2000, MSW generation increased to 292 kg/capita and was projected to reach 511 kg/capita in 2025 (Lau, 2004). Abdul Jalil (2010) reports that 50% of the waste produced in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, consists of organic waste. Waste composition in Malaysia by wet weight in 2005 shows that 44.8% of it is organic, 16% paper and 15% plastic.
While it is ideal to say that the world’s wealth should be consumed with the realization that resources are finite and that reserves must be made for future generations, the needs of people moving towards industrialization and development mist still be met. Industrialization, that began in the eighteenth century, caused a shift from rural and agrarian economies into urban and industrial economies. With industrialization, manufacturers were able to produce quality products at lower costs which in turn affects the demand, supply and production processes as depicted in Figure 1. Show More