Did you know that Malaysians produce 17,000 tonnes of food waste daily? According to the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), this is enough to fill seven Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The biggest contributor to food waste in the country comes from households, which account for 44.5% of food waste generated in Malaysia daily. All that food waste ends up in landfills and releases methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
To address this issue, GreenSteps engaged multiple stakeholders since 2015 such as eateries, residents, permaculture experts, schools, the local mosque, and the police to develop programs that allow people to take concrete steps towards a cleaner and healthier planet.
GreenSteps provides households and businesses with the necessary resources, guides, and mentors to make the shift towards reducing our carbon footprint collectively, increasing food security, and producing nutritious food for our bodies.
What Is The First Step I Can Take Today?
The first step is to begin separating your waste. This allows you to start turning food waste into compost, the building blocks needed to nourish the soil used to grow food and increase food security for you and your family.
QuickStart Guide: Source Separation at Home
Begin by separating your waste into three main categories:
1. Organic Waste – Food waste and garden waste that can be composted with nutrients returned back into the soil
2. Recyclables – plastics, glass, aluminium, e-waste, clothing & more
3. General Waste – items that can’t be composted or recycled such as diapers and sanitary products
As you get into the groove of separating your waste, look out for local initiatives and start observing your environment to find a composting method that suits your lifestyle.
Benefits of Composting Food Waste
- Reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating landfill waste
- Produce nutritious compost to enrich your soil, eliminating the need for synthetic fertilisers
- Grow nutritious and healthy food right in your own home
- Donate excess compost to edible gardens, increasing food security in communities
How to Choose a Composting Method
- Type of property – A landed or strata (condo, apartment) property will determine the amount of space you have and which method is best suited for your home.
- Amount of food waste produced daily – This will give you an idea of the volume of food waste you need to compost and the time required for the process. The average Malaysian household produces 0.5kg of food waste a day.
- Type of food waste to compost – some composting methods only allow you to compost fruit and vegetable peels, while other methods allow you to incorporate bones and dairy products as well.
- Source for resources – to turn food waste into compost, you need adequate oxygen, water, nitrogen and carbon. Nitrogen comes from food waste and green materials like freshly cut grass. Carbon materials are brown leaves, cardboard boxes, and paper that can be sourced from around your house or neighbourhood for free!
Want some inspiration to find a composting method that works for you? Watch how these three Malaysian women separate and compost their food waste in a landed property with a garden, an apartment with a balcony, and a landed home with a small garden.
Identifying a suitable composting method for yourself can be challenging especially if you are new to composting. GreenSteps aims to help bridge the gap by sharing resources and knowledge via mentors, who will guide and support you through the process in a way that is easy to understand and follow.
Besides natural composting methods which can take up to three months for food waste to break down, there are several types of composting machines that transform food waste into compost in 24 hours. This can help medium to large sized families and businesses manage waste quickly and easily.
The key to long-term success is to choose a composting method that is sustainable for you and your family to practice in the long run.
Visit our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for more resources on waste separation and composting.