Did you know that Singapore generates 750,000 tonnes of food waste, which is equivalent to 11 per cent of the nation’s total waste? An adult blue whale -- the largest animal currently living on earth -- can weigh up to 200 tonnes, so this means that Singapore throws away the equivalent of 3750 blue whales every year. This figure is astounding.
At Yishun Primary School, we have been bucking the food wastage trend since 2018. Yishunites are taught to separate their food waste from non-food items and deposit it into the Food Waste Bin at the canteen. This waste does not go to waste (no pun intended) as we have an in-house food waste composter machine. Our lab technician, Mdm Lui collects the food waste every day and pours it into the machine. Sometimes, students throw plastic bags and cutlery in by mistake, so she will have to painstakingly remove them to prevent damage to the machine. The food waste is then converted into compost, which is used in our garden and mushroom cultivation programme.
It is rare for a primary school to have a waste composter machine on site, so Yishunites play an important part in promoting sustainability. Let us all do our part to help Singapore to become a zero-waste nation.
Do you know if these efforts have scaled into adult behavior? Has Singapore managed to successfully make food waste recycling economical? California has tried but I don't think it's really working
Not at all!
Only 18% of our food waste is recycled.
Our behavior is appalling. We value convenience above all else. Such programs will fail because people will just dump leftover food and used tissue and plastic cutlery into the bin
Where does that end up? It doesn't seem like Singapore would have much room for landfills.
We only have one landfill which has been projected to last until 2030. Now we are fighting to extend its lifespan beyond 2035.
In other news, we burn 🔥 our waste. As quoted from the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment website:
Incinerable waste is sent to our four incineration plants, and the ashes end up at Semakau landfill.
Incineration can reduce waste volume by up to 90%!
The excess heat energy produced contributes to about 2% of our electricity supply.
You anticipated where I was going with this.
If it becomes an energy input, food "waste" is not really wasted. Some uneaten food becomes useful compost and the rest becomes useful energy.