May Wong, Channel NewsAsia 4 Jan 09;
SINGAPORE : Singapore aims to recycle 30 per cent of its food waste by 2012.
But for now, the rate stands at only about nine per cent.
So one home-grown food and beverage company is planning to do its part by recycling food waste this year. It is the first to do so on its own, on its own new premises.
Eating is a popular activity among Singaporeans, but not so when it comes to recycling leftovers.
In 2007, Singapore produced 558,900 tonnes of food waste, which can fill over 890 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
This is about 10 per cent of the total waste output of Singapore.
But only 51,200 tonnes of food waste was recycled for uses like animal feed or to generate electricity. The rest were incinerated.
So Apex-Pal, which operates restaurants like Sakae Sushi, wants to do its part.
About a quarter of the some 80 tonnes of fish used at its outlets monthly ends up in waste.
Douglas Foo, chairman and CEO, Apex-Pal International, said: "Right now, we are actually using about 40 tonnes of salmon, just one particular fish alone; plus all other types, it could easily reach out to about maybe 80 tonnes.
"Using that as a ball park, we are going to have about 10-20 tonnes, which will eventually go up to even higher tonnage in terms of waste...(so if) we are able to use the machine to actually channel that waste into useful energy, it is not just helping the environment, but it is also helping the organisation in terms of its cost."
Apex-Pal expects to save at least S$300,000 annually, once it starts recycling its food waste.
A pilot project in December last year saw five hawker centres sending their food waste for recycling.
They are the Chinatown Complex Market, Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre, Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre, Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre, and the Tekka temporary market.
Some organisations are already making it their corporate social responsibility to put food waste to good use.
Parkway Parade is just one of a handful of shopping malls to separate their food waste properly and send it for recycling.
They send it to the only food waste recycling plant in the western part of Singapore which handles about 100 tonnes everyday.
The food waste will then be turned into electricity which can power more than 3,000 four-room HDB flats."
Edwin Khiew, CEO and managing director, IUT Global, said: "As long as people see and understand why they have to segregate...to help recycling as a whole; if you segregate what contaminates the valuable recyclables, I think that would be a major step forward to ensure we have proper recycling."
Some are even urging the government to use legislation, to speed up the rate of food waste recycling. - CNA/ms
