Impact

Between January 2024 and January 2026, the plant treated approximately 251,000 tonnes of municipal waste and diverted around half of its incoming waste from landfill. Cypark estimates that this avoided about 504,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from landfill emissions, with renewable electricity generation avoiding a further 112,200 tonnes.

At full capacity, the plant can produce enough power for approximately 25,942 households each year. Its significance, however, reaches beyond those homes. By addressing waste and energy within the same system, SMART reduces pressure on land while limiting the pollution risks associated with conventional disposal.

Cypark has paired these environmental gains with community support. More than 400 people have benefited from programmes including festive aid, zakat contributions, assistance for underprivileged groups and support for students and local religious institutions.

The plant also offers Malaysia something it previously lacked: an operational demonstration that municipal waste can become part of a circular resource system rather than remain a growing liability.

Future outlook

Cypark now plans to build on that proof. Over the next one to three years, it intends to optimise the existing plant and implement Phase II, adding 1,008 tonnes of daily processing capacity and raising generation capacity to 22.09MW.

The expansion is being designed around more ambitious goals, including zero waste to landfill, zero toxic discharge and zero wastewater discharge. Cypark is also exploring methane conversion into bioLNG and bioCNG, alongside carbon credits as a possible additional revenue stream.

Over the longer term, it aims to replicate the SMART model through public-private partnerships, supporting Malaysia’s ambition to develop 18 waste-to-energy plants by 2040. The goal is not merely to move waste out of sight, but to change what happens next.