Comparative analysis between traditional villages and felda settlements on solid waste management in Kota Tinggi district

Abstract

Solid waste management (SWM) has an important role in enabling sustainability in developing countries. A systematic and proper management is an important aspect in maintaining a clean and safe environment. In Malaysia, SWM in areas outside the local authority (LA) boundary is non-existent. This paper made a comparative analysis of solid waste in that areas in terms of characteristics, management, and potential methods that can be applied. A study was conducted in 46 places which include traditional villages and FELDA settlements in Kota Tinggi district. The study found there is a lack of SWM in traditional villages compared to FELDA settlements. In traditional villages, 60.71% villagers use traditional methods like onsite burning, animal feed, or self-transferred to wheeled dustbins outside of their villages, while in FELDA settlements, the FELDA settlers apply modern methods i.e. hiring contractor for a proper waste collection. The Google Earth’s zonal system was used to determine the road accessibility categorized as Zone A (57%), Zone B (32%), and Zone C (11%). This study is in line with the government’s aspiration to become a developed country without discarding the aspect of sustainable development.