KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians threw away 86.66 tonnes of face masks per day in 2020, says the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

       It said non-medical face masks, Covid-19 self-test kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) used by the public were categorised as domestic waste and not clinical waste, and therefore would be managed in accordance with the procedures recommended by the Health Ministry.

       “The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in face mask, self-test kits and PPE usage, leading to the need for a safe disposal method for these items to maintain environmental sustainability.

       “Based on information from Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), an estimated 86.66 tonnes of face mask waste were generated per day in 2020, based on the estimated use of one face mask per day, with the weight of the face mask at three grammes per sheet.

       “The ministry will continue to work with the Health Ministry, the Environment Department and relevant government agencies to increase awareness and responsibility of the ‘Malaysian Family’ in managing this waste through community education programmes that have been planned under Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat,” the ministry said in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       It was responding to Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang) who had asked the minister to state the amount of waste due to the Covid-19 pandemic involving disposable face masks, test kit packages and PPE, as well as plans to reduce such waste through collaboration with relevant ministries.