Food Waste Recycling
In Singapore, 796,000 tonnes of food waste was generated in 2013 and the recycling rate is 13%. Food waste is usually processed as animal feed, and undergoes aerobic or anaerobic digestion to produce compost or energy.
Let’s take a closer look at food recycling:
Food Recycling in Singapore
There are local recycling companies that collect bread waste, soya bean waste and spent grains from food industries, and processes them into animal feed.
A few years ago, a recycling plant collects and turns food waste into methane and compost using an anaerobic digestion process. The digestion process involves microorganisms breaking down the food waste in reactors in the absence of oxygen, thus producing methane or biogas that can be burned to generate energy. The digested food waste can be used as compost for planting. Unfortunately the plant closed down in 2011.
Watch this video for a simple explanation of anaerobic digestion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=but5ntRMQQc
Food waste is also recycled using a mechanical composting process. Some companies and organisations use an aerobic digestion or composting machine to turn food waste into compost or water. The composting process involves microorganisms breaking down the food waste in the machine in the presence of oxygen, thus avoiding the production of methane. The digested food waste can be used as compost for landscaping and the water can be used for watering plants.
What Can I Do
Food waste is not commonly collected from homes for recycling, so what you can do is to reduce your food waste by not wasting food. Check out our tips on Don’t Waste Food.
Also check out more tips on reducing food waste through the Save Food Cut Waste campaign.
8 Comments
byJames
Came across this old post. Wondering – how do we get in touch with the recycling company? Are they even still operational?
byEugene Tay
@James, IUT has already closed down last year. For the other food recycling companies, see http://app2.nea.gov.sg/topics_localrecfacilities.aspx
byKevin
Hi Zerowaste.sg!
We are a group of JC students working on a project to encourage hawker centre hawkers (and consumers in the future) to recycle food waste. Although IUT has shut down, we noticed that some food wsate, such as vegetable and fruit scraps can be recycling cheaply by compost, and other wastes can also be “recycled” instead of merely being sent for incineration.
We are excited that Zerowaste.sg as done such a wonderful job at advocating for food waste recycling. Is it possible that we can interview the website admin to present our project as well as to learn more about the recycling situation in Singapore?
Thank you very much and we look forward to your reply !
Warmest regards,
Kevin
19/9/2013
byshawn
im doing a project on food wastage. would you be able to help me with graphs of singapore’s food wastage?
byPanikkar Sujith
There are lots of fruit trees on Singapore streets ready for harvest. Please don’t let these go waste!
byChin Ying Jie
I am doing my PW on food wastage. May i ask if you have any statistics about food waste in schools?
byjasmine
Where to find food waste collector?
byLIM KS
You can simply collect those beneficial earthworms during heavy rain near your grass field and make them your compost making heroes and safe tones of landfill. Not only that, your plants will love it. Recently, during raining season, I have collected 30 over earthworms (in half an hour time) just below my block and they are now happily staying in my styrofoam box with lots of kitchen waste mixed with soil.