Measures to Reduce Food Waste

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what plans are in place to reduce the amount of food waste generated in light of 785.5 million kilogrammes of food waste being generated in 2015; (b) what are the top contributing factors of food wastage; and (c) what are the targeted approaches to be undertaken by the Ministry to tackle each contributing factor effectively.

Food waste is a concern to my Ministry. When we throw away food, we waste the resources used in its production and expand manpower and resources for waste collection and cleaning. Food waste, when not properly managed, causes odour and pest issues. It also contaminates recyclable materials when they are mixed. Besides the environmental impact, wasting food is a waste of money.

The amount of food waste in Singapore has increased by about 50% over the past 10 years. Households generate around half of the food waste, with the other half generated by sources, such as food manufacturers, hotels, shopping malls and hawker centres. We can expect the amount of food waste to rise further as population size, incomes and economic activities increase.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem. My Ministry believes that a multi-pronged approach should be adopted to combat food waste. This starts with avoiding, where possible, excess food production. Where this is not possible, we encourage the redistribution of excess food. Lastly, we encourage food waste to be segregated for recycling and treatment. Food waste segregation is an important step that reduces the likelihood of recyclable contamination and enhances the effectiveness of our recycling efforts.

My Ministry works closely with other Government agencies and private sector partners to combat food waste in the non-household sector. In October 2016, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) launched a food waste minimisation guidebook for food retail establishments, with the aim of sharing good practices, such as smart planning and inventory management, to avoid food waste and save costs. To promote food redistribution, guidelines on the proper handling and redistribution of unsold and excess food have also been incorporated. People sector organisations, such as Food Bank Singapore and Food from the Heart, also play an important role to redistribute food to those in need.

My Ministry is experimenting with different models to implement onsite food waste treatment to reduce the road traffic created to transport food waste to our waste disposal facilities. Food waste is treated onsite at the hawker centres at Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 and Tiong Bahru. We have taken this one step further at Our Tampines Hub, where up to 1.4 tonnes of food waste generated from the hawker centre and food and beverage outlets can be recycled each day into non-potable water and fertilizer. NEA has also supported the installation of on-site food waste treatment systems at 19 premises under its 3R Fund, including Resorts World Sentosa, Mandarin Orchard and Amara Hotel.

We are also experimenting with district-level food waste treatment. Since last month, our partners, comprising selected army camps, schools and food centres, have been segregating their food waste at source. This food waste is then sent to a demonstration facility located at the Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant for co-digestion with used water sludge to produce biogas.

Households are major contributors of food waste in Singapore. NEA launched a public education campaign in 2015 to increase awareness of the food waste situation and promote ways to reduce food wastage. These include tips on planning food purchases, food storage and food preparation habits to help consumers minimise food wastage while saving money. NEA also partnered the North East Community Development Council (CDC) to launch the I Love My Food @ North East initiative in November last year. My Ministry welcomes more stakeholders to come on board to undertake food waste reduction initiatives in the community.

We are also studying the experiences of others closely, while being mindful of our local context. For example, households in Taipei segregate their food waste from other household waste before disposal. Some states in Australia have turned to technological solutions instead, such as in-sink grinders for food waste. We will monitor these best practices overseas and hope to seek the support of Members to partner us in these efforts. Together, I hope that we can gradually change the attitudes and habits of households to reduce food waste.