Problem overview:

     Policies and measures: Privatization of waste management/garbage collection may seem to have an advantage edge over public services, because since Malaysia has adopted the privatization system, garbage collection standards and customer satisfaction have been raised.

Background in summary:

     Former garbage collection method: Previously, when the solid wastes were managed directly by City Hall, at times the job was carried out by ill equipped, under trained and understaffed individual private contractors who covered fragmented collection areas in the Federal Territory.

     Operational efficiency: Under the privatization scheme, those contractors have now been placed under the management umbrella of Alam Flora Sdn Bhd. The company trains the contractors and provides them with modern technology to enable them to carry out their work professionally. As a result of its economies of scale, Alam Flora Sdn Bhd is motivated to introduce up-to-date technology to this field of management.

     Waste disposal sites: Like many other cities all over the world, land is scarce in Kuala Lumpur and the land-fill method is increasingly becoming an unacceptable option. The other alternatives such as using incinerators has to contend with the high proportion of PVC materials that give off poisonous dioxin fumes when burnt. In addition, an active garbage separation programme, under which recyclable materials can be selected, has yet to be introduced.

     Service fees: With privatization, householders and commercial property owners now have to pay a separate fee for solid waste collection. However, after one year of operation, the fees to be charged by the company had still not been settled.

     Feedback: Privatization has resulted in better community services. With a better work culture among the workers and the contractors, and the gradual introduction of modern technology into solid waste management, the service is becoming more reliable and there has been positive improvement.

Peer Review Committee Good practice rating: (1 for the best, 5 for the lowest score)
Sustainability		Efficiency
2	Improvement in either the environment of economic condition with no harm to the other.	2	Cost efficient.
2	Sustainable over time (not one-off)	Process
Adaptability		-	Participation of the community
3	Location adaptability (can the project be done in other places?)	2	Participation of resource owners/users
3	Socio-cultural adaptability.	2	Partnerships between various actors (Governments, NGO, Academia, Private)
2	Level of development adaptability.	-	Degree of coordination and cooperation between government departments.
2	Style of government adaptability.	-	Ability to attract political interest/support
3	Degree of decentralization adaptability.	2	Procedures for feedback and review.
Comments on this example:      It has been evidential in developed countries, for example, the case of British Airways, that privatization of government services or state-owned enterprises will improve operational efficiency and quality of service by getting rid of the bureaucratic system of the government.      Privatization will improve operational efficiency while reducing cost because, like any other business in the private sector, it has to be sure that it can compete in the market, that is through providing satisfactory service to customers without going over the budget. Sustainability of the project:   Adaptability of the project to other situations:      Developed countries like USA, Canada, and England have privatized many of their previously owned government services, such as British Airways, or Air Canada and as a result, these services have been quite successful in terms of quality of service improvement, increase profit margin etc. ever since. Process of decision making and implementation:      Policies and measures: With privatization, fees will be collected for the service instead of tax that used to go to the government. Although some say that privatization will increase the cost of service, as compared to what was once collected by the government, but if compare the rate of fee/tax to the quality of service at a certain price, it turns out that, privatization does actually provide better service compared to government service at the same fee/tax level. Cost efficiency:      It is almost always the case that the reason for privatization of government services or state-owned enterprises is to get rid of budget deficit that has been created while the service was ran by the government. Privatization will get rid of budget deficit, which is through increasing the cost efficiency of the operation.