COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

OF MALAYSIA: LESSON FROM
KOTA BHARU, KELANTAN

Teuku Afrizal (PhD)

Ethnography and Development Research Unit
Faculty of Humanities, Art and Heritage
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
 INTRODUCTION
• Solid waste management becomes an important issue in Kota Bharu,
Kelantan due to lack of financial resources and facilities, labor shortage
coupled with the low level of public awareness and participation
(Teuku Afrizal, 2012).

• In reality, motto “Kota Bharu Come Sokmo (beautiful Kota Bharu)”

could not be establish due to occurrences of solid waste pollution ,
public health issues and aesthetic problems

• Based on those issues “Primary collection Scheme” was introduced as an

alternative approach in 2002 at Taman Guru. Basically, this system
applied TOPDOWN AND BOTTOM UP approach.

• The question is, to what extend this approach will solve the problems at
the community and Local Authority level. How its impacts on human
development and community empowerment, live-able neighborhood
and live-able city
 ARGUMENTATIONS
• Community participation is an approach aimed to empower and
give opportunities to the community to be directly involved and
responsible in managing solid waste in their neighborhood
(Anschultz 1996).

• In UNCHS (1984), community participation can develop self-

reliance and the spirit of cooperation within the community
members. In this context the community will play an active role in
every activities in solid waste management system

• Community participation means the community play the role as a

responsible stakeholder in managing solid waste (Bulle 1999).

• Community participation is to involve the community members

collectively in planning, designing, managing, implementing of the
related policy and solve the issues related to solid waste at the
grass root level (Ghai & Vivian 1992;Ali 2003).
 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

Community
• A group of people who are bound in a particular area by the characteristics of the
shared values and norms as well as the common identity and collective imagination

• Communities have homogeneity and interaction face to face in a certain degree .

Its members build relationships and interdependence , maintaining the idea
of sharing and helping each other and bound by a collective conscience .

Primary Collection Scheme

• Primary collection scheme includes ; separation, door to door collection system,
transport and storage in a temporary communal bin provided by the local
authorities placed in the neighborhood (see Figure 1)

• In a certain countries, primary collection scheme is also involve waste minimisation

such as recycle, reuse, recovery and composting program
 FIGURE 1
Primary Collection Scheme
Generation

Separation and Storage

REUSE,
RECYCLING,
REDUCE,
WASTE TO
ENERGY
Collection/Transport
Secondary Collection
Transfer/Transport To Disposal Site

Disposal
 Theoretical Perspective-
Eclectict Approach

• URBAN ECOSYSTEM THEORY

(DETWYLER AND MARCUS, 1972)

• STRUCTURATION THEORY (GIDDENS,

1984)

• SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY (PUTNAM,

1995, 2000)
 PRIMARY COLLECTION SCHEME IN KOTA
BHARU, KELANTAN
The Ideas

Community involvement in solid waste management is one of the LA

strategy in order to improve the level of city cleanliness especially in
residential areas

Delivery of responsibilities by LA to local communities was carried out

because of two factors;
a) due to various problems in operating solid waste management
system efficiently and effectively
b) to implement local agenda 21, althoutg Kota Bharu was not
involve in National Local Agenda 21 program

Basic principles

a) to increase the involvement of the local community

b) to reduce the financial and administrative burden of LA
c) to encourage the local community in providing services on their
own neighbourhood
d) to reduce a bureaucracy in solid waste management
 TAMAN GURU
Demographic Profile's

• Population, approx. 1000 people

• Houses, 210 houses (Original TG and TG Annex), detach, semi-
detach, double story
• Ethnicity, 100 percent Malays (Perak, Pahang, Terengganu,
Kelantan)
• Educational background, mostly finish S1, a few S2
• Occupation, mostly school teacher and ex school teacher, a
few another government servant
• Religion, 100 percent Muslim
• Social organization, PKMTG (formal neighborhood association),
KRT, UMNO and PAS Taman Guru Branch ETC
• Facilities, mosque, community hall, kindegarden and
community library, football field
2. INVOLVEMENT IN Primary Collection Scheme

• Selected from 144 residential areas in Kota Bharu

• Pilot project start in 2002
• Arrangement by yearly contract basis between LA and
neighbourhood association
• Contract value RM 1,433 /month, (financing all management cost
including workers salary, EPF, maintenance the equipments, petrol
etc)
• conducted by Persatuan Kebajikan Masyarakat Taman Guru
(PKMTG)
• The scope of work;
a) Door to collection
b) Separation and Solid waste storage
b) Transporting waste to communal bin
c) Cutting grass
d) Drain cleaning
• Appointed 2 workers with the salary RM 500/month
• collection of solid waste was using three Cycle.
• The equipments were donated by the state government of Kelantan
3. OTHER ACTIVITIES

• Conducting Bulk Waste

•Cleanliness campaigns;

1. by sending the circular to the residents,

2. reminders through mosques,
3. information from heads of the lane

•Gotong royong;

1. conducted once a month and when it is required,

2. conducted gotong royong perdana once a year on cooperation
with LA.
3. the gotong royong perdana was involving various parties invited by
PKMTG

• To maintain and improve cleanliness, health and cheerfulness

neighbourhood associations encourage each household to planting
trees, cleaning up the area around the house , etc.

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Gotong Royong
4. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MONITORING BY LA

• Law enforcement is also carried out at the local community level ,

especially related to the prohibition of planting trees on sidewalk
(fines RM 100-250 )

• To ensure the successful implementation of PCS monitoring and

evaluation has been carried out internally and externally

1. Internally; by PKMTG

2. Externally; by the LA three times a month (LA reviews and evaluate

the implementation of PCS in accordance to the standards
operation. At the same time interview to the residents corncerning
with the implementation of PCS was also conducted)

5. COLLECTIVE PARTICIPATION AND INTEGRATED PARTICIPATION

• There is an collective participation in every level of solid waste

management (primary collection scheme)
• Strong corporation from LA (support, advice and tolerance)-
Integrated participation

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 IMPACTS

• To Local Community

Before After

• Solid waste collected 4 Times/week • Waste collected frequently

• Solid waste was only collected in the main  TG clean and healthy
road  There is standard in storage
• Scattered and mountainous garbage  Grass always cut
 There was no standard in storage  Good service from workers
• Grass rarely cut  Comfortable with the management
• Garbage left behind after collection (easy to make complaint to workers
 Noise during collection and PKMTG)
 Hard to make complaint  The drain is always clean
 Holiday session out of service  Collection of waste covering all areas
 Bad smell from garbage truck  Workers are very diligent and easy to
 Drain was often clogged and smelly asked for help
 Communal Bin (RoRo) smelling  There is no flies and mice issues
 Lots of flies and mice  There is instruction from PKMTG to
store solid waste in communal bins
during in holiday session
 Hygiene control by PKMTG with
association to LA Secondary
collection conducted every day
To neighborhood association (PKMTG)

 Improve the financial of NAs (NAs usually use it for social and religion
activities)
 Improve community trust to PKMTG

To LA

• reduce administrative and financial burden

• law enforcement at the grassroot level
• reduce LA's burden interm of providing environmental education
at the grassroot level

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To Community Development and Neighborhood

• Basic model to form “independent community”

• Basic model to form Liveable neighborhood (base on 5
K) and; liveable city (if LA apply the system in a whole
city)
• Basic model for Sustainable Agriculture Issues
• Basic to develop small-medium economic model

To solid waste management system

• resolve the issues arise in solid waste management (e.g

lack of financial, public awareness and participation
issues etc)
• An alternative model for solid waste management
system, and contribute to implementation of LA 21
• Model solution at the household level (contradict with
“end of pipe solution”)
 BEYOND THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Beureucratic’s Reform and LA’s Initiative

• Setup Special Task force committee unit

• Setup a Pilot project
• Meet the community leaders
• Assist community leader in preparing project
proposal
• Provide financial assistant
• Provide basic facilities
• Provide SOP
 At The MiCro Level
•INDEPENDENCY OF Social Organisations
•Support From Supporting Organizations
•FREQUENT MONITORING AND EVALUTION (BOTH LA
AND PKMTG)
•STRONG SUPPORT, TOLERANCE IN IMPLEMENTATION
AND GIVING FREQUENT ADVICE (FROM LA)
•LEADERSHIP FACTORS – MICRO AND MACRO LEVEL
•STRONG SOCIAL CAPITAL-BONDING,BRIDGING AND
LINKING
•EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
•STRONG SOCIAL CONTROL
•NEGOCIATED BASE DECISION and MANAGEMENT (IN
THE CONTEXT OF COMMUNITY AND LA)
 CONCLUSION

• In order to enhance a sustainable development

purpose, community participation in managing
solid waste is important to form an alternative
SWM system from the bottom. Beside, the support
from the top is solely important

• This is a new paradigm in solving a basic inquiry in

SWM system -from ‘end of pipe” to solution at the
household level” paradigm

• CP contributes in formulating models of community

development, liveable neighbourhood ,
sustainable agriculture etc
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