PROMOTING FOOD WASTE RECYCLING IN SINGAPORE'S CONDOMINIUMS

Abstract

Singapore has always been actively instilling the idea of community ownership amongst her people in making environmentally responsible choices in waste disposal. Although it is evident that the overall waste management had improved, more improvements can still be made in the area of reducing food waste. Households make up a significant amount of total food waste disposed in Singapore. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate recycling habits in households and examine the feasibility of promoting food waste recycling through a combination of two systems that deals with food waste. Research for this paper includes a review of current literature on different technologies and practices used by countries and industries in attempt to recycle food waste. A questionnaire for condominium households and interviews with three waste management related professionals were conducted to get their objective perspectives on food waste recycling. The major findings revealed that food waste recycling was not being practiced in Singapore’s households due to public health concerns and handling issues. Although there were waste management organizations promoting food waste recycling, they were mainly found in the commercial sectors. Much still needs to be done to make recycling an integral part of Singaporeans’ lives. This paper proposes that Singapore should develop and implement an aggressive food waste recycling programme, to create public awareness in the importance of recycling in the long run. While Singaporeans might still have the ‘throwaway mentality’ and do not find food waste recycling important, it is impossible to disregard how food waste recycling has its benefits. To achieve this, relevant government bodies should collaborate with various waste management organizations to target food waste recycling as the next step in providing higher standard of waste management.