10 schools to get food-waste recycling machines

SINGAPORE — Machines recycling food waste will be put up in 10 schools next year, with the National Environment Agency (NEA) to rent the devices from a vendor for its two-year project to reduce and recycle food waste in schools.

The NEA issued an invitation on Friday (Dec 2) for companies to submit proposals to lease food-recycling machines to the agency, and to service and maintain the machines. 

The winning bidder will provide training for the schools’ staff members, students and canteen stallholders on the proper segregation of food waste for recycling. 

The NEA did not reveal the 10 schools shortlisted for the project, but said that they include primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges. They were shortlisted based on their participation in environmental programmes, and their intention to incorporate the machine into their school curriculum or environmental education, an NEA spokesperson said. 

The schools also had the space needed for the machines, and are committed to related activities such as hosting learning journeys and conducting assembly talks on food-waste reduction and recycling, she said. 

Apart from the machines, the NEA will provide educational resources such as posters, a toolkit and videos on food-waste reduction for schools to use. 

The tender opened on Friday and will close on Dec 23. The project is expected to be launched by the second quarter of next year. “The final list of participating schools will be released when ready,” the NEA spokesperson said.

No figures are available on the total amount of food waste generated by schools, but the agency said that a school with about 1,300 students and teachers generates about 30 to 55kg of such waste a day.

Last year, Singapore generated 785,500 tonnes of food waste, and the NEA said earlier this year that the amount of waste had increased 1.5 times in the past 10 years. 

Food waste “is expected to increase with our growing population and economic activity”, the agency said, adding that if the waste grows at the current rate, Singapore would need more waste-disposal facilities such as incineration plants and landfills for incineration ash, which is “not sustainable” for the land-scarce country.

The food-recycling project in schools comes after the NEA launched a two-year on-site food-waste recycling pilot project at two hawker centres, namely Ang Mo Kio Block 628 Market and Tiong Bahru Market, in January. 

The project tests the economic viability and operational feasibility of two types of on-site food recycling systems. 

One converts food waste into water for non-potable purposes, and the other grinds and mixes food waste with micro-organisms, with the mixture later converted into bio-fertiliser.