Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  • 2 Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Electronic address: ctlee@utm.my
  • 3 Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory - SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, - VUT Brno, Tachnická 2896/2, 616 00, Brno, Czech Republic
J Environ Manage, 2019 Aug 15;244:431-439.
PMID: 31153031 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.05.050

Abstract

Waste prevention and management become a significant issue worldwide to achieve sustainable development. Similar to many developing countries, Malaysia has faced severe problems in waste management due to its rapid economic growth and urbanisation. The municipal solid waste (MSW) production rate in Malaysia had increased significantly in a recent year, ranging from 0.8 to 1.25 kg/person∙d. The wastes generated contain a high amount of organic portion with high moisture content. Improper MSW management practice or delayed in waste collection and transportation can lead to severe health issues. This paper presents a case study in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (FOLO Farm), in which a composting prototype is used as the waste management technology to recycle the food and vegetable wastes. The greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation and economic feasibility of the integrated composting and organic farming in this study are reported. This study showed a reduction of 27% of GHG by diverting the food and vegetable wastes from open dumping to the composting plant. Higher reduction rate (∼44%) can be achieved with better planning of waste collection route and applying the mitigation strategies during the composting process. By adapting the membership concept, this project not only ensures the economic feasibility of running a composting plant but also secures a channel for the growth of vegetable distribution. This study provides an insight into the feasibility and desirability to implement a pilot-scale composting for organic waste management to achieve the low carbon and self-sustain community.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.