KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 29): Producers will be responsible for financing the collection and recovery of post-consumer product waste under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, without transferring the financial burden to the federal and state governments or local authorities.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu said this is a fundamental principle of EPR, which is targeted for mandatory implementation by 2030.

“The EPR scheme is based on the principle of producer responsibility. In terms of financing, producers are responsible for funding the collection and recovery of post-consumer product waste.

“This includes packaging waste through the EPR mechanism, without transferring the financial burden to local authorities, state governments or the federal government,” she said during question time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.

She was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Alias Razak (Perikatan Nasional-Kuala Nerus) on specific allocations for infrastructure development and support for EPR implementation.

EPR is a policy approach that makes producers responsible for managing the waste generated by their products after use, particularly packaging such as plastic, paper, metal, glass and beverage cartons.

This can include financing or organising the collection, recycling and recovery of such waste, reducing the burden on public authorities while encouraging producers to design products and packaging that generate less waste.

Aiman Athirah said the Housing and Local Government Ministry would continue to strengthen cooperation with state governments, local authorities and industry players to coordinate infrastructure, collection mechanisms, data reporting and monitoring of EPR implementation according to the respective states’ jurisdictions.

She said the EPR policy framework for packaging waste, covering plastic, metal, paper, glass and beverage cartons, is being refined as the basis for phased implementation.

Meanwhile, she said a total of 6,256 recycling facilities had been recorded as of August 2026 in states that had adopted the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672).

She said the ministry is also developing the MyEPR database system, which is expected to begin operations in December 2027 to strengthen waste management data reporting and monitoring.

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