Every country has a waste problem
The land to bury it is running out
We make more waste every year, and most of it ends up in landfill. In Malaysia, only 22 of 135 active landfills are engineered, and the space is projected to run out by 2041. Governments from Brussels to Singapore are now setting hard limits on what can be dumped.
+70%
+70%
+70%
Global waste by 2050 if nothing changes
The world made 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2016. The World Bank expects 3.4 billion tonnes a year by 2050.
2041
+70%
+70%
When Malaysia's landfills are projected to be full
SWCorp expects Malaysian waste to keep growing 1.3% to 1.7% a year. Singapore's only landfill, Semakau, runs out of space around 2035.
10%
+70%
10%
Most municipal waste the EU will allow in landfill by 2035
From 2030, EU law also stops waste that could be recycled from going to landfill, with limited exceptions.
What 2041 looks like on the ground in Malaysia
22 of 135
22 of 135
22 of 135
active landfills are sanitary and engineered
The ISIS researcher describes most of the rest as essentially open dumps.
RM 1.9 bn
22 of 135
22 of 135
a year to maintain 174 closed landfill sites
Closing a landfill does not end its cost.
75,000+
22 of 135
35% to 45%
residents lost water supply after a 2019 leak
Leachate from the CEP Renggam landfill in Johor reached Sungai Benut and shut a water treatment plant.
35% to 45%
1.3% to 1.7%
35% to 45%
of waste is food and organic matter
35% per ISIS Malaysia. Alam Flora puts it at 45% of municipal solid waste.
26%
1.3% to 1.7%
1.3% to 1.7%
of daily waste is plastic
Paper, glass, textiles and metals make up most of the rest.
1.3% to 1.7%
1.3% to 1.7%
1.3% to 1.7%
yearly growth in waste
Most waste goes to landfill, not to recovery or reuse. Most landfills do not capture the methane from rotting food.
The world is already setting limits
Waste is a global problem, and landfill is where most of it ends up. Here is how big the pile is, what it costs the climate and the sea, and which rules are coming.
Three places, one direction
European Union
European Union
European Union
- Municipal waste landfilled must fall to 10% or less of what is generated by 2035.
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40 has been in force since 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026.
- In 2018, 24% of municipal waste in the EU was still landfilled.
- The main landfill threat from food and garden waste is methane from rotting.
Singapore
European Union
European Union
- Waste sent to Semakau each day must fall from 0.36 kg to 0.25 kg per person by 2030.
- Packaging is one of three priority waste streams, with food waste and e-waste.
- Semakau was built by enclosing 350 hectares of sea. There is no land left for another landfill.
Malaysia
European Union
Malaysia
- Food and organic waste is the largest category, roughly 35% to 45% of waste depending on the source.
- Only 20.7% of households separate food waste from other rubbish.
- The national recycling rate was 37.9% in 2024, up from 35.38% in 2023.
Sources
- World Bank, What a Waste 2.0, as reported by Waste360 and Waste Dive
- European Commission, Packaging waste
- European Commission, Landfill waste and Directive (EU) 2018/850 summary
- Singapore Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Waste management
- ISIS Malaysia, Prime time for Malaysia to dig itself out of its landfill problem (SWCorp projections)
- Asia News Network, SWCorp recycling rate
- Bernama, Alam Flora and DOSM food waste figures, 6 August 2026
- GreenMax Intco Recycling news item on the Western Australia ban, as shown in the Bina BioX deck
THE WAY OUT
We cannot bury our way out. Change the material
Better collection, composting and recycling all help, and Malaysia is working on them. They manage waste after it exists. The other half of the answer starts earlier: make things from what was waste, and from materials that go back to nature when they are done.
Replace foam with something that composts
Replace foam with something that composts
Replace foam with something that composts
Bina BioX Biofoam is grown from mycelium and farm waste, and composts in about 30 to 90 days. So far we have made blocks for furniture and appliances, and holders for glass jars.
Give waste a second shape
Replace foam with something that composts
Replace foam with something that composts
Eggshell, coffee and textile waste become coasters, tiles and everyday items. The ISIS researcher also points to turning glass, textiles
and plastics into new materials.
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