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An Analysis on the Effectiveness of Malaysia Current Recycling Campaign.

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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
Macmillan English Dictionary defines recycling as “the process of treating waste materials such as newspaper and bottles so that they can be used again”. Beside paper and bottles there have lots of recyclable items such as aluminum cans, scrap metals, plastic and printer cartridges. Recycling saves energy and reduces pollution and would help slow down global climate change.

The history of recycling is started nearly 4000 years ago, there was a recovery and reuse system of bronze scrap in operation in Europe and there is evidence that composting was carried out in China. In 1898, The Association of Cleansing Superintendents is established, which today has evolved into the Institute of Wastes Management. …show more content…

2003, p.306). Solid domestic waste is one of the major environmental problems faced by most municipalities in the country particularly in urban areas. The generation rate of waste is 1.0kg/day per person and 80 percent of the 230 landfills in the country have only two years of lifespan left. Despite rigorous campaigns of recycling, the attainment of recycling rate has increased from 1-2 percent in 1997 to merely 5 percent in 2001 (Aini et al. 2002, cited in Said et al. 2003, p.306).

Studies have shown that the most significant factor affecting nature is not the official government policy but public awareness (Chukwuma 1998, cited in Said et al. 2003, p.306) or public concern for environment and the readiness to bear the cost of minimizing the adverse impacts of their activities (Ramsey and Rickson 1976, cited in Said et al. 2003, p.306).

2.2 Malaysia Current Recycling Campaign
Accordingly, various policies and strategies are currently developed and implemented by the government in order to ensure sustainable development of the nation. The root causes of environmental problems are related to human activities, consumption and production patterns, many of which are unaffected by environmental policies. Studies by various scholars have demonstrated that the quality of the environment depends

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