Our love affair with food here in Malaysia is well known, but unfortunately, we also tend to waste huge amounts of it. According to Solid waste Corporation Management, Malaysians generate 15,000 tonnes of food waste every day, which is enough to feed 12 million people 3 times a day! When food waste goes into landfills, it disintegrates and emits greenhouse gases leading to global warming.
Malaysia's Largest and 1st Green Mall, 1 Utama is revolutionizing urban waste with the introduction of its W.I.S.E WITH FOOD (Waste Innovation for Sustainability and the Environment) program to demonstrate its commitment to conservation efforts. W.I.S.E is the largest on-site retail food waste management system to be introduced in a Malaysian Mall where food waste from 180 F&B tenants is transformed into high-grade organic fertilizers for a meaningful and holistic 'table to farm' approach.
1 Utama is collaborating with Microbs, a local eco-friendly waste management company that caters to the F&B industry, in order to install a 2-tonne capacity machine which collects up to 4,000 Kg of food waste a day to be processed into 100% organic fertilizer. This will be used for gardening and landscaping throughout 1 Utama and the wider Bandar Utama area, as well as, to shoppers soon.
1 Utama is collaborating with Microbs, a local eco-friendly waste management company that caters to the F&B industry, in order to install a 2-tonne capacity machine which collects up to 4,000 Kg of food waste a day to be processed into 100% organic fertilizer. This will be used for gardening and landscaping throughout 1 Utama and the wider Bandar Utama area, as well as, to shoppers soon.
During the launch of the event recently, 1 Utama's Director Teo Chiang Kok stated that they had to persuade and convince restaurant tenants about the benefits of the initiative before giving the green light to implement the system. He said he believes this zero waste ecosystem offers an efficient and socially responsible solution to the huge amount of food wastage.
Every day at 1 Utama, F&B tenants separate food waste at their premises daily. Depending on the tenant's operational size, each tenant is provided with a W.I.S.E food waste bin. 20L bins are given out to kiosk and medium-sized outlets, and 120L bins to supermarkets and large-sized restaurants.
Food waste being disposed of in a 20L bin
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In order for the W.I.S.E recycling machine to process food waste into organic fertilizer, the waste must first be properly segregated at source by tenants. Only solid food waste is accepted e.g. fish, meat, bones, vegetables, bread, pastries, cheese, rice, grains and any leftovers in dry form. Waste that is deemed unsuitable consists of non-solid wet waste such as, sauces, soup, curries and foreign objects like plastic, metal, paper, glass etc. All of these will need to be sorted and removed from the food waste before being deposited into the machine for recycling.
Each Tenant is also allocated a Food Waste Monitoring Smart Card to track their daily waste disposal activities. By tapping the smart card to a reader located in the W.I.S.E recycling room when weighing in their bins, tenants are able to track the amount of food waste they dispose by weight. Data collected through the smart card is then available in a monthly report provided free to tenants so that they can conduct their own analysis on wastages, operations, and control food cost.
Unlike conventional waste conversion efforts, 1Utama has strategically chosen to process its food waste into 100% organic fertilizer because it has a higher value and is more beneficial for planting, vegetation and landscaping purposes.
Organic fertilizer is collected
According to 1 Utama General Manager Samantha Lee, tenants would be able to attain a much more successful business model by being aware of how much waste they produce on a daily to monthly basis. She says there are plans to add a 2nd machine to process even more food waste in the future and also to organize tours to educate the public about zero waste.
So head down to 1 Utama to check out their W.I.S.E With Food program, where there is a 750 sq ft experiential showcase constructed, which includes a gallery for shoppers to watch the entire recycling process live. You can also find other "Green Attractions" all over the mall such as :
- Rainforest - Award-winning tropical enclave with 100 species of forest trees and plants, a huge freshwater fish aquarium, koi fish ponds, waterfall, and overhead suspension bridge.
- Secret Garden - SE Asia's largest rooftop garden 30,000 sq ft displaying 600 species of rare and temperate plants.
- Eco-Fabric Bank - The Public can donate clothes, toys, and bags here, to be recycled and given to disadvantaged and underprivileged communities.
- Water Refill Stations - Shoppers can B.Y.O tumblers and flasks to refill free drinking water of purchasing bottled water, creating less plastic pollution.
For more info :
Website -https://www.1utama.com.my/
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/1Utama/
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/1utama/
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