As part of efforts to treat food waste and demonstrate the feasibility of on-site food waste treatment, the National Environment Agency (NEA) is supporting NUS in conducting a pilot trial…

As part of efforts to treat food waste and demonstrate the feasibility of on-site food waste treatment, the National Environment Agency (NEA) is supporting NUS in conducting a pilot trial

An anaerobic digestion system for food waste treatment is being piloted at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village. The system was developed by a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and converts food waste generated by food stalls and patrons at East Coast Lagoon Food Village into biogas and bio-fertiliser. A biogas engine converts the biogas into electricity, while the bio-fertiliser is used in landscaping applications. The onsite treatment of food waste reduces the need to send food waste for incineration.

Food waste is one of the priority waste streams identified under Singapore’s Zero Waste Masterplan. In 2020, food waste accounted for about 11 per cent of the total waste generated in Singapore, but only 19 per cent of the food waste was recycled. The rest of it was disposed of at waste-to-energy (WTE) plants. Therefore, reducing food wastage, redistributing unsold or excess food, and recycling/treating food waste are important food waste management strategies. Food waste needs to be managed holistically, as it can contaminate other recyclables when they are disposed of together, making the recyclables unsuitable or difficult to recycle. It can also give rise to odour nuisance and vermin proliferation issues, if not managed properly or in a timely manner.

As part of efforts to treat food waste and demonstrate the feasibility of on-site food waste treatment, the National Environment Agency (NEA) is supporting NUS in conducting a pilot trial of their containerised Anaerobic Digestion system at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, under the Closing the Waste Loop (CTWL) R&D Initiative. The NUS team, led by Associate Professor Tong Yen Wah from the NUS Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, oversees the operation and maintenance of the Anaerobic Digestion system. The team is concurrently studying the human psychology and behavioural factors in encouraging hawkers and cleaners to segregate food waste from other waste.

Assoc Prof Tong from NUS, explained, “Our NUS team is excited to be leading this effort, with support from NEA and NParks, to reduce waste in Singapore and turn food scraps into a green energy resource. Our technology is unique because it is easy to operate, and can now generate heat, fertiliser and electricity for areas at or around the hawker centre. When coupled with the human behavioural studies, our system is no longer just mere technology, but a component of social change that will help to ensure the success of an on-site system to close the food waste loop at its source.”

NEA and NParks have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on this pilot project. NParks will study the use of the digestate produced from the Anaerobic Digestion process (i.e. liquid residues from the biodegradation of food waste) for landscaping application at East Coast Park, thereby closing the food waste loop there.

Mr Chia Seng Jiang, Group Director for Parks East at NParks, said, “We are happy to collaborate on this pilot project with NEA and NUS to support efforts to convert food waste into energy and fertiliser at East Coast Park. NParks is working closely with NUS researchers on the experimental design of this project and practical applications of the digestate. We are identifying pilot sites at East Coast Park to test the efficacy of the digestate as fertiliser.”