Positive steps to reduce landfill waste

Young guests being given a tour of Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa’s composting facilities.

In DOING its share for the environment by reducing waste in landfills, Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa has embarked on a food waste composting project and managed to compost 15,000 litres of food waste from its kitchen.

The hotel aims to compost 50,000 litres by year end.

The compost is sold to the resort hotel’s landscaping company and used as fertiliser at the premises.

Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa senior general manager Alex Castaldi said there were three clusters of hotels located in Sunway City – Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa, Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Clio Hotel.

“All these hotels can generate about 1.3mil kg of rubbish a year. The majority of this consists of food waste.

“We engage with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and distribute our excess edible food to the needy. But the food waste generated from the preparation process as well as discarded food is turned into compost, ” said Castaldi.

He added that the programme was part of the resort hotel’s initiative towards supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on responsible consumption and production as well as zero hunger.

Castaldi gave the media, school students and several NGOs a tour around the composting facilities and explained the processes.

“The composting process takes place daily using the Maeko technology which makes compost within 24 hours.

“Among the items that can be composted are food waste such as rice, fruits and chicken bones, as well as other organic waste like used tissue paper, ” he said.

Castaldi reminded the public to avoid wasting food, especially at buffets.

“Take small portions. We can reduce food wastage by not having to throw away the entire meal.

“In our hotel, we prepare food based on the number of reservations to avoid wastage, ” he said.

Maeko Sales & Services (M) Sdn Bhd sales director Mae Ooi Si said Maeko’s composting machine could reduce food waste by 80%.

The waste is composted using the anaerobic environment where controlled parameters such as the temperature, agitation and airflow are utilised. The composters are embedded with a specially designed crusher unit to help shorten the process to just 24 hours.

“The unit also has special ventilation features and a bio-enzyme filtration system that promotes elimination of the unpleasant odour from composting, ” she explained.

Among other green initiatives by Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa is the Soapful project, where unused soaps are repurposed and distributed to social enterprises.

The resort hotel also partners with FatHopes Energy and recycles used cooking oil into biodiesel.

Another sustainable initiative is working with Kloth Cares for fabric recycling.