SWCorp
The Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation. Runs inspections and issues compounds under Act 672.
The rulebook, in one place
Waste regulation and the fines behind it
This page is a single reference for the Malaysian laws, rules and penalties that govern waste, and food waste in particular. Every other part of this site points here rather than repeating the rules piece by piece.
Amendment notice · 28 September 2026. The penalties on this page were
checked against the text of the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1712) and
corrected. The RM500,000 figure is the land pollution maximum under section 24(3), which now
carries a RM50,000 minimum; larger bands apply to water discharge under sections 25, 27 and
29. Director liability is not created by the amending Act itself. Earlier wording that
treated these as a single flat penalty and as settled director liability has been withdrawn.
At a glance
The laws and what they cost you
The short version. Each row is expanded further down the page.
| Instrument | Year | What it requires | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act (Act 672) | 2007 | Mandatory source separation of waste for commercial, industrial and institutional premises | Fine up to RM1,000 per offence (Section 74(2)) |
| Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1712) | 2024 | Introduced minimum fines across pollution offences and raised the maxima sharply | Land pollution (s24(3)): RM50,000 to RM500,000, or up to 5 years jail; larger bands apply to water discharge (s25, 27, 29) |
| National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF) | Phased | Listed companies to report waste data: volumes, disposal methods, diversion rates | Disclosure obligation; assurance from 2027 onward |
The main one for buildings
Act 672: source separation is mandatory
The Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 makes separating waste at source a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have.
- Applies to commercial, industrial and institutional premises
- Food waste must be separated from recyclables and general waste
- Mandatory compliance came into force in 2020
- Enforced by state authorities in Johor, Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perlis, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya
- Penalty: a fine of up to RM1,000 per offence under Section 74(2)
Enforcement is tightening, not relaxing. SWCorp inspected 5,943 CII
premises between 2020 and mid-2025 and issued only 2 compounds. The low count reflects
a warning-first phase, not a rule that will stay unenforced. The direction of travel is
clear.
The one that raised the stakes
Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1712)
The 2024 amendment rewrote the penalties across most pollution offences. The change that matters is the floor it introduced, not the headline ceiling.
- Minimum fines introduced where the Act previously set only a maximum. A conviction under most of these sections can no longer end in a token fine.
- Land pollution under section 24(3): RM50,000 to RM500,000, or up to 5 years imprisonment, or both, plus up to RM1,000 for each day the offence continues after notice
- Larger bands apply to water discharge under sections 25, 27 and 29, so the single "RM500,000" figure often quoted understates the exposure
- Compounding is allowed up to 50% of the maximum, so the compound figure rose with the maxima
On director liability. It is widely asserted in commentary on the
amendment, but the amending Act A1712 does not contain such a provision. Any personal
liability of directors comes from the principal Act, not from the 2024 amendment. Confirm
against the principal Act before advising a board.
Who enforces it
The agencies you will deal with
State & local councils
DBKL, MBPJ, MBJB and others enforce food safety and waste rules at the premises level within their areas.
Environmental authorities
Enforce the Environmental Quality Act and its 2024 amendment, including the raised dumping penalties.
The scale of the problem
Why the rules exist
The regulation follows the numbers. Food waste is a large, growing and expensive share of what Malaysia throws away.
- 30.6%
- Of the waste stream is food waste (SWCorp composition study)
- 11,960
- Tonnes of food waste generated daily, of 39,078 tonnes total
- 21 / 176
- Landfills that are sanitary with methane capture
- +21%
- Rise in food waste nationally during Ramadan
Hotels
1.0 to 1.8 kg of food waste per guest per night. A 300-room hotel at 70% occupancy can generate 200 to 380 kg a day.
Restaurants
Around 0.5 kg per meal served in full-service dining, before any diversion.
Disposal cost
Reference tipping fee around RM95.50 per tonne, on top of haulage. Every tonne diverted is a tonne you stop paying to bury.
Where we fit
Compliance is a measurement problem
Every rule on this page eventually asks the same thing: prove what your building generates, prove you separated it, and prove where it went.
That is exactly what a Bravo SCE programme produces. A weighed food waste baseline, an enforceable segregation SOP written for your tenants, and a monthly record of diversion are the same evidence an inspector, an auditor and an NSRF disclosure all ask for. Meeting the rule and cutting the cost turn out to be the same piece of work.
Please read. This page is general information compiled as at 27 September
2026, not legal advice. Laws, penalties, effective dates and enforcement practice change,
and the figures above draw on published summaries and government sources including a
food waste management overview by Gargeon.
Confirm the current position with the relevant authority or your legal adviser before
acting on it.
Stay on the right side of it
Turn the rulebook into evidence you can show.
We measure your waste, write the segregation SOP, and keep the monthly record that proves compliance. The same work that lowers your bill.