The Power of Food

16 September 2005

By Lee U-Wen
TODAY

WASTE NOT: An artist’s impression of the IUT Global renewable energy plant in Tuas, which will convert food scraps into household electricity.

DIGEST this: A local environment waste management company wants to use all your leftovers and food scraps to generate electricity.

IUT Global announced yesterday it is building a $60 million facility in Tuas to convert such scraps to biogas. The plant, the largest of its kind in Asia and the first in Singapore, will be able to process up to 800 tonnes of waste a day at full capacity.

At that rate, the biogas produced can generate 6 megawatts of electricity an hour, enough to provide power to over 10,000 households.

The 1.7-hectare plant will be completed by the end of next year. It will also produce a nutrient-rich compost which can be used for organic farming.

Last year alone, 531,000 tonnes of food waste were produced, just over a tenth of Singapore’s total waste output. But just 6 per cent of this is recycled. The rest ends up at the incineration plant.

“If we can divert more waste from our incineration plants, we’ll have less ash going to our landfill, thus extending their lifespan,” said Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Said IUT Global’s chief executive Edwin Khew, 56: “In our culture, we eat and entertain a lot. For us, it’s better to provide more food than required, so we throw away a lot of excess food. This waste will continue to climb as our population grows.”

He predicted tangible savings for customers who use his plant for recycling. It is also a big boost for the environment.