Home-grown firm that turns food waste into furniture wins NEA award

Home-grown company A1 Environment collects sodden, used coffee grounds from cafes and hotels, and turns them into wood-like panels that can be used to make furniture.

It first removes contaminants such as coffee filters, then dries and processes the coffee grounds and mixes them with a binder so they can be shaped into fire-retardant panels.

Since 2019, A1 Environment has worked with local woodworkers and carpenters to build furniture and household items such as tables and shelves from the new material. A1 Environment business director Loh Yen-Lyng said by the end of next year, it plans to launch a range of furniture, in collaboration with the woodworkers.

For giving food waste a new lease of life, A1 Environment and 10 other firms were recipients of the inaugural Food Resource Valorisation Awards yesterday, given out by the National Environment Agency (NEA). Food resource valorisation is the conversion of food waste into higher-value products.

A few years ago, A1 Environment worked with an expert from Nanyang Polytechnic to develop a proprietary formula to convert used coffee grounds into material for furniture. The firm has so far converted 650 tonnes of used coffee grounds into compost for local farms or the durable panels that are harder than plywood.

On winning the award, A1 Environment technical director Mohamad Ismail Ibrahim said: "Over nine years, we have put in a lot of effort in trying to reduce waste. Previously we were working with paper, plastics and other materials, but now we've moved into coffee... and the feedback from furniture-makers has been encouraging."

By the end of next year, the company will start exploring ways to convert other food waste, such as tea leaves and coffee husks, into furniture and household items.

Another winner, KosmodeHealth, turns spent barley grains into starchless, high-fibre noodles that do not cause an increase in blood sugar levels. Spent barley grains - a waste product from beer breweries and malt factories here - are dried and processed into a fine protein fibre powder which is formulated into noodles. KosmodeHealth says its noodles taste and feel like the real thing.

Called W0W noodle, each 200g pack is sold online for $6.60.

KosmodeHealth is currently raising funds to build a pilot production facility so that it can process 100kg of spent barley grains into starchless noodles each day.

Last year, food waste accounted for 11 per cent of the total waste generated. Of the 665 million kilograms of food discarded, only 19 per cent was recycled.

Speaking at the award ceremony yesterday, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor said: "More can and needs to be done to reduce the amount of food waste that goes to our incineration plants as valuable resources are wasted in their production, distribution and disposal."