SINGAPORE - The National Environment Agency (NEA) on Monday called a tender for a two-year food waste management pilot to be run at two hawker centres here.
To be conducted at Tiong Bahru Market and Ang Mo Kio Block 628 Market, the pilot aims to "test the economic viability and operational feasibility of food waste segregation and recycling in hawker centres".
It is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.
Both hawker centres each generate more than 1 tonne of food waste per day and were chosen based on the number and mix of stall types as well as the space available for food recycling facilities.
NEA said that the winning bidder will be required to provide the leasing and maintenance of two on-site food waste recycling machines.
The machines are expected to reduce the volume of food waste by at least 90 per cent per day by converting segregated food waste and leftover food from the hawker stalls to water or compost.
The company will also be required to provide training and infrastructure for cleaners and stall holders to segregate food waste, and submit reports for NEA to assess how successful the pilot is, added the agency.
The tender closes at 4pm on June 4.
Food waste accounts for about 10 per cent of total waste generated, but less than 15 per cent of it is recycled. Last year, 788,600 tonnes of food waste was generated, of which 101,400 tonnes, or 13 per cent, was recycled.
The rest was disposed of at the incineration plants and then put in the landfill.
The amount of food waste generated in Singapore has increased by about 48 per cent over the past decade and is expected to rise further in tandem with a growing population and greater affluence, added the agency.
