PROBLEM STATEMENT

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2019), approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption, including fruits, vegetables, roots, and tubers, is wasted annually. The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2021 estimated that around 931 million tons of food waste were generated in 2019, with between 8 and 10% of global carbon emissions linked to unconsumed produce, 61% of which came from households, 26% from food service, and 13% from retail (UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, n.d.).

            In Malaysia, the amount of food wasted was around 17,007 tonnes daily (Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) in 2021, where the United Nations Environment Programme 2021 recorded that Malaysia has the highest amount of food wasted within Southeast Asia. Recent news stated, in 2022, 4081 tonnes of food that is still edible, is being dumped on a daily basis, which is still equivalent to at least one and a half of a Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Food waste that ends up in landfills has been repeatedly shown to have a negative influence on the environment. When food waste is disposed of in landfills, it undergoes anaerobic decomposition, which occurs in the absence of oxygen. During this decomposition process, methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is generated. Methane is known to be approximately 25 times more effective at trapping heat over a 100-year period than carbon dioxide (EPA, 2020).

Apart from that, all of these food waste will end up in the landfills, yet our country has run out of space. As of 2018, Malaysia already has 170 waste disposal sites. With the amount of food waste that keeps increasing in Malaysia, more bigger landfills will be required.