WASTE MANAGEMENT

Taliworks’ involvement in the waste management business started in May 2016 when it acquired a 35% equity interest in SWMEH group. SWMEH group is a waste management and public cleansing service provider in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia, namely Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka, established in line with the National Privatisation of Solid Waste Management. SWMEH’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SWM Environment Sdn. Bhd. (“SWME”) is the concession owner for the provision of solid waste collection and public management cleansing services, with the concession ending on 1 September 2033.

Its business covers a total geographical region of approximately 28,500 sq. km and serves a population of over 5 million. It services 26 local authorities in the southern states of the Peninsular Malaysia of Negeri Sembilan (7), Melaka (4) and Johor (15) with over 9,066 staff and 250 sub-contractors who collectively manage approximately 5,200 tonnes of waste per day.

As a waste management and public cleansing service provider, SWME provides collection and cleansing services for residential and commercial entities within the municipal jurisdictions. The collection and transportation of domestic waste, garden waste, bulky waste, and recyclables form the crux of the company’s business. Currently, the company manages a fleet of about 1,000 collection vehicles and a workforce of over 2,200 dedicated employees to provide scheduled and timely collection services. SWME averages a collection of 156,000 tonnes of waste a month with an approximate total of 1.87 million tonnes of waste collected for the year 2024. As part of the mandatory Separation at Source (SAS) for recyclable items, SWME introduced a Mobile Application called “KITARecycle” in 2018 to encourage the public to recycle through a reward program (i.e. accumulated recycling points (RP) can be redeemed for cash). The program has attracted 113,000 participants thus far with a total of 4,313 tonnes of recyclables segregated and diverted from the landfills since its inception in 2018. The public cleansing services, which include grass cutting, drain cleaning, street sweeping, wet/dry market cleaning and beach cleansing, form an important part of the company’s scope of work and plays a critical role for the benefit of the public. A fleet of over 600 cleansing vehicles, machines, and a workforce of over 6,400 employees are deployed for the cleansing services.

In 2015, EPF acquired a 35% equity interest in SWMEH. The acquisition by Taliworks into SWMEH marks the third partnership between Taliworks and EPF.