THE EFFECTIVENESS AND CHALLENGES OF USING TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Singapore is often referred to as a food paradise due to its diverse range of cuisines from various cultures and countries. However, for a country that is known for its food, Singaporeans also waste tonnes of it. According to the National Environmental Agency (NEA), food waste represents around 12% of total waste generated in Singapore, which can have far-reaching consequences on the country, including land pollution, air pollution, and societal issues.

In response to this issue, a mobile application called Treatsure was developed with the objective of reducing food waste by connecting consumers to hotel buffets that have food surpluses. Hence, this dissertation seeks to examine the effectiveness and challenges of using technology to reduce food waste in Singapore.

This is to better understand Singaporeans' attitudes and willingness to reduce food waste by purchasing food surpluses from hotel buffets. Seeing as Treatsure is currently only partnered with hotel buffets, it is important to look into whether such a technology could be implemented in other eateries such as hawker centres.

Treatsure users and merchants were invited to participate in a survey to gain a better understanding of the local situation and challenges. The results are analyzed using several components to evaluate the experience and challenges encountered when using the Treatsure application. Data collection also included survey results from consumers and stallholders at selected hawker centres. Pie charts, tables, and bar graphs are used to assess respondents' level of awareness, attitude, and support for hawker centres to reduce food waste by redistributing food surpluses.

This dissertation concluded that the public is in favour of this initiative. However, more needs to be done to raise their awareness of food waste and how it affects them personally.