UniSZA, Primula Beach Hotel Partnership Turns Food Waste Into High-quality Compost

KUALA TERENGGANU, Oct 19 (Bernama) — A new collaboration between Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and the Primula Beach Hotel is converting discarded food waste into high-quality compost. 

UniSZA vice-chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr Fadzli Adam, said the pioneer project is expected to yield significant benefits in advancing green innovation by converting kitchen waste from the hotel to produce high-grade compost for the agricultural sector.

"This research and development (R&D) project leverages the expertise of our university researchers to convert food waste into cleaner, odourless compost that is rich in nutrients for crops," he said.

He added that the project is being conducted under the Academic Industry Engagement Research Project, involving researchers from UniSZA's Faculty of Bioresources and Food Industry.

Fadzli was speaking to reporters after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between UniSZA and the Primula Beach Hotel.

Elaborating further, Fadzli said the project is expected to be implemented in one to two years, with the university providing initial funding. 

"This initial phase is a starting point before we apply for larger grants from agencies such as the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) to expand the scope," he said.

He added that the Primula Beach Hotel is the first in Terengganu to participate in such a project and expressed hope that the initiative could be expanded to more hotels across the state and the wider East Coast.

Meanwhile, Primula Beach Hotel general manager Suaibah Harun informed that the establishment generates approximately 40 kilogrammes of food waste daily, primarily from its daily buffet.

"All this excess food used to be just discarded because it could not be distributed due to standard operating procedures. 

"Now, the waste is collected daily and processed into compost through a natural method that takes between one to three months. The final product is then used for fertigation-cultivated plants within the hotel grounds," she said.

She explained that the process is manual, relying on natural additives rather than machinery for decomposition.

--BERNAMA