Mottainai Food Tech Pilot Manufacturing and R&D Laboratory Opening Ceremony - Dr Janil Puthucheary

Good morning everyone. I am very happy to be here with you today at this event.

• First, I want to thank Mottainai Food Tech for inviting me to celebrate the opening of their new facility.

• This facility is a great example of food waste valorisation and truly embodies the Japanese philosophy of “Mottainai”, or “wasting not”, by turning what some view as waste into valuable food resources.

• Recycling food waste contributes much to building a more sustainable Singapore.

In 2022, Mottainai was among the top five winners at the inaugural DBS Foundation and NEA Hungry For Change Challenge.

• Mottainai had showcased their innovation solution, Jiro-meat, at the Challenge. Jiro-meat is an alternative protein made from okara, the soybean pulp left over from making soy-based products such as soy milk or tofu.

Since then, Mottainai has quickly scaled up the valorisation of okara waste.

• Today, we celebrate another major milestone, the opening of their pilot manufacturing facility and laboratory.

In an increasing resource-constrained world, closing the resource loop is crucial. It means nothing goes to waste, with the output of one process becoming the input to another. For example,

• When used paper and cardboard waste are transformed into new packaging materials, or

• When the leftover spent grains from breweries are used again in animal feed,

• That’s closing the loop.

Recycling facilities like Mottainai are thus key in helping us close our resource loops – in this case, the food resource loop.

• In 2024, food waste recycling facilities recycled about 138,000 tonnes, or 18%, of food waste that would otherwise have been sent to our waste-to-energy plants and Semakau Landfill.  

• While we should prevent food waste generation in the first instance, by buying only what we can consume and keeping track of what’s in our fridge to prevent spoilage, recycling of food waste is equally important.

• This is especially so when food waste is inevitable, such as the by-products of food manufacturing like okara.

• I am heartened to see entrepreneurs like Mottainai develop new ways to close the food waste resource loop.  

The closing of resource loops is a key issue for Singapore.

• Given our limited space, we need to effectively manage the waste we generate, by reducing and reusing to minimise waste, and recycling to turn the waste back into a resource.

• This is so we can extend the life of our only landfill, Semakau Landfill, which is projected to be fully filled by 2035.

• Let me share a few thoughts on where we are, and where we need to be.

We have made significant progress in reducing waste as a nation.

• Over the past decade, waste generation per capita and per billion dollar GDP has fallen by more than 20% and 30% respectively.

These numbers are commendable. They suggest that Singaporeans and businesses alike are making more deliberate choices to embrace environmentally sustainable practices in their daily lives, through the cumulative impact of reducing, reusing and recycling.

Our recycling rate continues to hover at around 50% in 2024.

• Most of the recycling rates have held steady – including paper and cardboard, plastics, and food.

• Except for wood which has shown a slight decline.

If we observe the recycling rate over a longer period, it has declined over the past ten years or so. Mainly due to two factors:

• Construction and Demolition waste and used slag are almost 100% recycled. But the volume of waste generated in recent years is much lower compared to earlier years. This has affected the overall recycling rate, as it forms a smaller proportion of total waste generated compared to earlier years. 

• Also, paper and cardboard recycling rate has declined to 32% from a peak of over 50%, even as total volume has increased. In recent years, post-2019, the volume has gone up largely due to paper and cardboard packaging, such as from e-commerce. At the same time, weakening economics around recycling arising from higher collection costs due to manpower shortage and rising transport costs, along with higher freighting cost from fuel prices, and, fluctuating offtake prices as recyclables are traded as commodities in the global market, affecting business viability. These are the two main factors, even though there are other factors.

We will continue to encourage residents and companies to reduce and reuse, even as we double down on recycling.

• One area that we will continue to double down is food waste.

• We rolled out mandatory food waste segregation for treatment for large food waste generators at new buildings such as hotels, restaurants and food manufacturers, in March 2024.

• This food waste segregation at existing buildings will commence with the completion of the food waste treatment facility at Tuas Nexus. The food waste collected will be co-digested with used water sludge from the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant.

• This process produces biogas from waste, which can be used for energy generation.

Another area we are stepping up our efforts in is paper.

• Given the weakening economics of recycling, we are working with industry to see how we can better support them.

• At the same time, we are also looking at how to make paper recycling – especially cardboard – easier, as they tend to be bulky.

• More details will be shared in due course.

Besides recycling, we also have the waste disposed of at our Waste-to-Energy plants and Semakau Landfill. Our combined commitment to reduce the amount of waste generated and improve recycling efforts is reflected in the waste disposed of.

• While the waste generation rate has come down in the past decade.

• The recycling rate has also trended downward during this period.

• The net effect is that on absolute terms, there is more waste disposed of over this period. 

Thus, while we have upcoming initiatives, the Government cannot close our resource loops alone. We also need the support of each and very Singaporean.

• Businesses should continue to make their operations more sustainable.

• Individuals can do our part by carrying out simple actions such as:

  • Being careful about how much food we buy and cook

  • Avoiding single-use disposables; and

  • Treating our blue bins well by recycling properly

• We should also continue to innovate and find new ways to turn trash into treasure.

Once again, I would like to thank Mottainai for the invite and all of you for being here today. I look forward to the impact Mottainai will have on our sustainability journey. Let's work together to create less waste and a greener Singapore. Thank you.