KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 13,743.15 tonnes of vehicle battery waste classified as scheduled waste were generated nationwide between 2021 and 2025.
The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry (NRES) said the figure covered all battery waste under scheduled waste code SW103 and was not specific to electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
NRES said EV batteries are classified as scheduled waste and were regulated under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) and the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005.
As of March 4, 2026, seven off-site recovery facilities handling SW103 waste were operating in Kedah, Selangor, Johor, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Penang.
"These facilities support the recovery of valuable materials from used batteries, including lithium, nickel and cobalt," the ministry said in a written parliamentary reply.
The ministry was responding to Mohd Nazri Abu Hassan (PN-Merbok), who asked about the number of EV batteries disposed of or recycled between 2021 and 2026.
He also asked whether the government planned to implement the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principle, requiring EV manufacturers and importers to take back batteries and bear the cost of disposal at the end of their service life.
NRES said the government had outlined a direction for implementing EPR through the Circular Economy Policy Framework for the Malaysian Manufacturing Sector, led by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti).
The framework aims to extend manufacturers' responsibilities for managing products at the end of their life cycle, including through collection, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling.
However, a mandatory EPR mechanism requiring EV manufacturers and importers to take back used batteries and bear the cost of managing them had yet to be established, the ministry said.
It added that further research was needed on legal requirements, manufacturers' and importers' obligations, funding mechanisms and policy coordination between NRES and Miti.
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