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In 2021, Singapore generated more than 800 million kg of food waste, but only 19% of that waste was recycled. To combat this issue and work towards the goal of becoming a ‘Zero Waste Nation’, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) made it mandatory for the owners and operators of commercial and industrial premises, where large amounts of food waste are generated, to segregate their food waste for treatment, from 2024 onwards.

UOL is ahead of the timeline to support the nation’s goal by installing food waste digesters in 2022 at Odeon Towers and all its five hotels in Singapore, followed by United Square, Velocity@Novena Square and KINEX in January 2023. Briefings were conducted for UOL’s food and beverage tenants to learn how to separate their food waste before they are fed into the digesters.

Through the use of these digesters, UOL can help to reduce the amount of food waste that is sent to landfills for disposal. Based on the Zero Waste Masterplan, by decreasing the amount of waste sent to the landfill per capita per day by 30% by 2030, the current lifespan of the landfill that is projected to reach full capacity by 2035, can be extended.

Here are three facts about the technology used in a food waste digester:

1. Onsite food digesters can help to greatly reduce food waste at its source by converting digestible food into greywater, which can then be discharged through sewage channels
2. The digester uses a microbial process to treat the food waste, which digests and decomposes it in 12 hours, and converts it into greywater within 24 hours
3. Only leftover or kitchen preparation food waste can be processed; plastic, paper, metal, glass, and liquids are not allowed to be fed into the digester

UOL is committed to its sustainability vision of ‘Less Carbon, More Life’, thereby contributing to a clean, green and sustainable future.

Informative sessions were conducted for mall tenants (left) on how to separate food waste before the digester (right) can process the food waste further and turn it into liquid.