Industrialized and developing countries today are plagued by the gravity of the problem of e-waste. Managing e-waste is a global environmental problem that has created significant environmental damage in some parts of the world. Although Malaysia has plans to manage e-waste, there are still difficulties, and the need to manage e-waste is now even more pressing. Therefore, to manage e-waste effectively, it is necessary to develop general, structured policy measures to address the issue within the nation and globally. This chapter aims to explore the sustainability issues in Malaysia, challenges towards e-waste management in Malaysia, an overview of e-waste policy implementation, the effects of e-waste on the environment, the activities organized by the government and other organizations, and the mechanism of e-waste management in Malaysia. By making diverse research contributions, it would eventually encourage the growth of sustainable e-waste management in Malaysia.
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Environmental issues are among the critical problems plaguing the world. Interest in environmental problems is more prevalent in developed countries than in developing countries, particularly regarding community awareness and government policies and regulations (Lita, Surya, Ma’ruf, & Syahrul, 2014).
Environmental management is an essential element in sustainable tourism and is often related to the environmental management system; the activities are undertaken to protect, enhance or reduce the environmental impact. In addition, in a broad sense, environmental management covers issues such as environmental impact (aesthetic, cultural, ecological, and social), sustainability, resource management, and pollution (Rocabella Mykonos Art Hotel & SPA, 2012). Meanwhile, green practices are an essential activator in an environmental management system used to reduce the organization's impact on the environment and make the operations more sustainable (Kim et al., 2017).
Green practices can be defined as the implementation of appropriate programs and activities undertaken and management's influence to reduce the negative environmental impact (Yusof, 2017). Among the criteria for green tourism are encouraging the use of green products and the provision of training programs “to control the introduction of environmental management and waste management techniques,” such as recycling. One popular program widely used worldwide to reduce waste is a recycling program. However, the program is sometimes perceived to incur a high cost. Nevertheless, solid waste management is an efficient method to reduce the cost of waste hauling fees (Yusof, 2017; Pirani & Arafat, 2014) and simultaneously contributes to creating a green environment.
Green initiatives or environmental initiatives are a part of the programs adopted in many parts of the tourism sector (Siti-Nabiha et al., 2011). According to Tang (2015), Berezan et al. (2014), and Singh, Cranage, and Lee (2014), green initiatives are related to the recycling program, water-saving devices, and green landscaping. Industrialized and developing countries today are plagued by the gravity of the problem of electrical and electronic equipment waste (E-waste/WEEE). In general terms, WEEE refers to discarded electrical and electronic equipment parts with no potential for further use (Shad et al., 2020; Soo et al., 2013).