Quantifying carbon footprint reduction by converting food waste to liquid compost / Harsaheb Singh Sarjit Singh

Harsaheb Singh, Sarjit Singh (2018) Quantifying carbon footprint reduction by converting food waste to liquid compost / Harsaheb Singh Sarjit Singh. Masters thesis, University Malaya.

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Abstract

Recently, Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) has developed a new facility called Smart Waste Solution Lab which is located at SS2. It was a pilot project and went fully operational in mid of May 2017. This facility uses the concept of circular economy where food waste is recycled to the benefit of the society. The aim of this study is to quantify the reduction of carbon footprint that can be achieved by recycling food waste. The purpose of this facility is to collect food waste from the nearby stalls and hawkers and hence convert it to liquid compost by the process of Anaerobic Digestion. This initiative has a lot of benefits which include carbon reduction, diverting waste from landfill and also generating income from the sales of liquid compost. However, this research will be focused on the quantification of carbon reduction based on waste reduction in this process. Basically, when food waste is diverted from landfills, emission such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) can be avoided. Besides, since there will be less overall waste, number of trips to landfill site will also be reduced which will result in less carbon emission from dump trucks. All these carbon reductions will be quantified using a self-developed carbon calculator. This carbon calculator will measure and self-compute the carbon emission to the atmosphere taking into consideration the aspects of food waste, transportation and energy consumption. The method used in this study is giving out questionnaires to the waste operators in order to obtain information such as daily food waste collection and carbon emission from their daily operating process. Interview session were also carried out with MBPJ Authorities in order to gain more information. A period of six months is taken for data collection and the reduction of carbon recorded will be projected up to year 2030 to reflect the direction towards MBPJ Carbon Management Plan. All measurement will be done in accordance of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq). Methane gas emission has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 28, meaning that 1kg of methane emitted to the atmosphere will be equivalent to 28kg of CO2 emission. The results of the study show that a carbon reduction of almost 864 tonnes can be achieved for a period of one year. It is indeed a great initiative taken by MBPJ as it has set an example for other city councils to follow its footstep in contributing towards carbon reduction.

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