Technical Cooperation

The Composting of Food Waste and the Establishment‚ Dissemination‚ Demonstration and Commercialization of a Recycling Loop in the Cameron Highlands‚ Malaysia (Part3)

Jun.20‚ 2023

Shinsuke TAKEUCHI‚ Senior Technical Expert

The Cameron Highlands are located at an altitude of approx. 1‚500 m. This sightseeing area attracts around 300‚000 tourists a year‚ and is also a district where the cultivation of vegetables‚ fruit and flowers is widespread thanks to its cool climate. However‚ there is a problem with waste treatment since a lot of vegetable and food waste with a high water content is generated‚ which is hard to incinerate.

Given this context‚ in November 2019 Well Create Co.‚ Ltd. took advantage of the JICA dissemination and demonstration project and launched a project with Malaysia’s Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation to separate and collect two tons of vegetable and food waste per day and compost it at a compost center. KITA provided support for this project in collaboration with Kitakyushu City.

Immediately after the facility commenced operation in February 2020‚ travel restrictions were imposed until June 2022‚ a period of roughly two and a half years‚ due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a dramatic decrease in the amount of waste collected‚ but travel restrictions were lifted in May 2022 and energetic action was taken when travel to the site was once again possible. The amount of collected waste increased as a result‚ and collection and composting operations are now proceeding stably. The compost produced has been analyzed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute‚ which also carried out cultivation experiments‚ and it has been certified to be a safe and satisfactory fertilizer. Some farmers have also cooperated in trials using this fertilizer‚ and the vegetables grown with it were highly praised when they went on the market. The dissemination and demonstration activities thus proceeded smoothly‚ and this demonstration project came to an end in June 2023. With regard to business development going forward‚ discussions are now underway concerning the establishment of a joint venture with a local company.