UTAR Alumni

JUNE 2012

Composting Made Easy

Name: CHYE WEI DA
Course: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) BIOTECHNOLOGY
Date of graduation: March 2007

Disposal of waste has a huge environmental impact. In Malaysia, people are now generally conscious about the environment and various efforts are being taken to reduce waste disposal.

However, whether burying waste in landfill sites or incinerating it, there are a variety of problems that will crop up such as air pollution, methane gas emissions, acid rain, and other issues.

In the context of household garbage disposal, a serious problem is developing as the country?s population increases. Due to the waste's high moisture content, household garbage is difficult to burn.

At green-centric companies MG EcoTech (MGET) Sdn Bhd and New Trio Product Sdn Bhd, a potential solution has been found to address the issue of household waste.

The companies are marketing an innovative product called KitCobin, a unique, easy-to-use, in-house system used to transform kitchen food waste into nutrient-rich organic compost.

'KitCoBin is a special eco-friendly bin used to recycle almost all kitchen food waste generated by a household. It is used in conjunction with 'Bio Booster' based on Japanese technology. The booster consists of natural beneficial micro-organisms used to enhance the fermentation pro-cess,' said MGET senior vice president (finance) Yap Poh Yee.

She added that the technology is currently used in New Zealand and Australia.

'Unlike the normal decomposition pro-cess, which releases foul odours and often results in maggots, the effective micro-organisms (EM) yield high-quality compost in a limited time, without generating odours.'

According to research in Japan, EM contains various good micro-organisms, such as photosynthetic (phototrophic) bacteria, lactic acid bacteria and yeast.

EM are naturally occuring micro-organisms beneficial to human beings and are used for making fermented food such as bread, soybean paste, cheese, yogurt and wine. When applied to soil or water, EM activates existing good micro-organisms.

According to the companies, EM has been proven to be non-toxic through tests on rice, mice and minnows. Developed more than 20 years ago, EM has been introduced to over 116 countries, and over 500 municipalities in Japan, with no reports of adverse effects.

'It can divert up to 50% of domestic solid waste from landfills. This reduces emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas (21 times more potent than carbon dioxide), produced when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-starved landfills,? said Yap, adding that the Bio Booster is one of MGET's core products.

'As one of the pioneer organic waste management solution providers in Malaysia, we are dedicated to providing reliable and innovative solutions for the complete spectrum of organic solid waste.

'We have hands-on experience in designing, building and operating commercial-scale waste treatment plants in Malaysia and overseas, which is why we launched KitCobin in collaboration with our strategic partner, New Trio during the Modern Home Fair 2012 in April,? said Yap, adding that New Trio has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and distribution of home gardening pro-ducts in Malaysia.

'With the tagline, Let's Save Our Planet, One Kitchen At A Time', our focus is to promote the green culture and the green theme now appears to have increased in every segment of most economies in the world giving rise to a green culture.

Under the 9th Malaysia Plan (2006 to 2010), stu-dies show that the municipal solid waste in Malaysia is divided into food waste (45%), plastic (24%), paper (7%), iron (6%), and glass and other materials (3%).

'The waste generation in Peninsula Malaysia alone is 19,100 tonnes a day and the rate of recycling is less than 5%,' she said, adding that the companies are moving towards a paradigm shift in waste management.

Yap said KitCoBin is versatile as it easily fits under the kitchen sink or anywhere convenient.

'The KitCoBin composting system includes two unique features, the strainer and spigot, allowing for moisture released by the scraps of food waste to be drained. The concentrated liquid can be diluted with water and used as a fertiliser or cleaning solution for the kitchen and bathroom.

'The bin does not require any electricity to operate and it is not hazardous to children and pets. Rich in nutrients, the fermented food waste is an organic solution for greener, healthier and more beautiful plants,' Yap said.

Asked about the funding for the business, she the funds to start the project came from personal investments and about RM100,000 was pumped in for product innovation, research and development, marketing as well as advertising and promotions.

As the product was launched in April, Yap said it is too early to project when they will break even, as it depends on the response from the market.

At this point in time, we are not focusing on making back the investment, but we want to create an awareness about the product.

KitCoBin is a small investment for every household and one should look at it from the perspective of saving the environment. It costs RM159.90 inclusive of a 1kg pack of Bio Booster, which is placed in the bin. The Bio Booster can be purchased on its own at RM11.90 a packet.

'Everyone can do their bit for the environment and people should realise that food wastes contribute the largest por-tion of municipal waste,' she said, adding that a total of 700 units of bins were brought for the Modern Home Fair 2012 in April.

The bin and Bio Booster are now available at Houz Depot, Justlife Organic and Ace Hardware, and we plan to market the product at other retail outlets in the future.

At this point in time, the 20-litre bin is already available in the above stores in Seremban, Penang and Malacca,? she said, adding that the company hopes to see KitCoBin in every household within the next few years.

On the challenges faced, Yap said it is difficult to get the general public to be more conscious about the environment and surroundings.

'People generally take things for granted and do not care about food waste or how it is disposed of. As such, we need to further strengthen our marketing activities by participating in home fairs or carnivals,' said Yap, adding that it had recently approached a radio sta-tion to have a talk show to create product awareness.

Grab one today: New Trio Products sales and marketing executive James Yong (left) and MicroGreen Process Engineering Sdn Bhd product specialist Gavin Chye with the KitCoBin kitchen composting bin and Bio Booster

Source : The Star Online, June 7 2012