The smart way of fighting food waste
On-site waste systems such as composting are crucial in managing food waste
With the Chinese New Year festive season around the corner, it is perhaps timely to discuss the often overlooked issue of food waste management.
In a waste audit conducted in 2017, the National Environment Agency (NEA) found that more than half of food waste generated by Singapore households could have been avoided if people adopted a more prudent approach towards managing their food.
According to the United Nations, some 1.3 billion tonnes of food produced in the world is wasted every year.
In Singapore alone, food waste has risen 40 per cent over the past 10 years, from 568,000 tonnes disposed of by households and the food industry in 2008 to around 809,800 tonnes in 2017.
This made up 23 per cent of total waste disposed of in Singapore in 2017, with only 16 per cent recycled.
The good news is that food waste management can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally because the treatment of food waste, unlike that of metals or plastics, is much less complex, as there are no special treatments required to process food waste.
In fact, effective food waste management is a fundamental aspect behind the circular economy of food.
In Singapore, reducing food waste is part of our core initiatives towards a zero-waste nation, a key focus area of our Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.
There are multiple factors we need to consider to eliminate food waste, from minimising food wastage at source from agriculture to transforming the consumer mindset.
The tipping point comes when food and retail enterprises across the board make food waste management a business priority that is built-in - both physically in business operation frameworks and strategically in business plans.
It is heartening to see that many retail establishments in Singapore have started to incorporate food waste management into their daily operations.
For example, supermarket chain FairPrice in 2014 developed a food waste reduction framework to engage community and partners through enhancing internal processes and public education.
It has also developed a Food Waste Index to track and sustain food waste reduction efforts, which helped to raise greater public awareness of food waste.
Using another approach of recycling food waste, two hawker centres in Ang Mo Kio and Tiong Bahru have also piloted a food waste recycling system that converts food waste into either compost/fertiliser or non-potable water for general washing and cleaning.
Aside from retail establishments, real estate developers and facility managers can also play a crucial role in influencing the adoption of sustainability measures by the occupants of their developments.
For instance, landlords are now introducing the concept of a "green lease".
It incorporates various sustainability measurements into tenancy agreements and collectively boosts the green performance of the building.
Building owners are working with tenants on the waste segregation requiring space planning and training of tenant staff for effective waste segregation.
When it comes to food waste management, a developer can make a significant difference in helping tenants manage food waste from the get-go.
Shopping malls such as Parkway Parade and Jem have in recent years adopted on-site waste management systems such as composting.
Commercial and industrial premises such as hotels, food and beverage outlets, schools and government buildings have recognised the need to reduce their environmental impact, and many are already utilising similar on-site food waste management solutions and practices.
Ultimately, to advance towards a resource-efficient circular economy, governments, businesses and consumers can collaborate towards extending the utility cycle of our excess output and giving waste a new lease of life.
Only then can we recreate our industrial ecology in a sustainable way that works for, and not against, our environment to become a zero-waste nation.
The writer is head of sustainability, Asia, at Lendlease. This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Business Times yesterday.
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