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Malaysians Dispose Enough Edible Food To Feed An Estimate Of 2 Million People Every Day, Says NGO

Malaysians Dispose Enough Edible Food To Feed An Estimate Of 2 Million People Every Day, Says NGO

Almost 24% of food waste is classified as edible meaning this can feed almost two million people daily, higher than the population of Kuala Lumpur.

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Did you know that Malaysians waste a total of 17,007 tonnes of food waste per day as reported back in 2021?

What’s more, almost 24% of food waste is classified as edible meaning this can feed almost two million people daily, which is higher than the population of Kuala Lumpur.

According to a report by BFM News, the Lost Food Project — a Malaysian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to a sustainable future by rescuing ‘lost’ food and finding it a new home with people who need it most — said 2021 government data showed Malaysians generate over 16,700 tonnes of waste daily, including 45% of food waste.

That’s definitely a concern especially in Malaysia, we are a country that is home to about 5.6% of the poverty rate and that is equivalent to about 400,000 households in Malaysia.

Business Operations Manager Rossin Bassi

BFM News also reported that data showed that the lack of knowledge and experience by business owners on waste disposal is among the reasons for the 21% increase in solid waste in the past five years.

Back in March, the New Straits Times reported that an extra 75,000 tonnes of food waste in Malaysia can be expected during Ramadan, if nothing is done to reduce wastage. 

Speaking to NST, SWCorp chief executive officer Ismail Mokhtar said food wastage was not only the highest in Malaysia but also the primary cause of pollution.

If food waste is not managed well, we will continue to depend on dump sites, which are untreatable. So when there is a lot of food waste in dump sites, it results in pollution to the environment due to leachate, which needs to be treated. When the amount of leachate increases, so does the cost of treating it, and this is borne by the government. Leachate can flow and contaminate rivers, kill fish and pollute other food sources. We need to heighten awareness and we need people to join us to reduce food waste.

SWCorp chief executive officer Ismail Mokhtar

But wasted food isn’t just a social or humanitarian concern — it is also an environmental one. 

According to the World Wildlife Fund, when we waste food, we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. 

And if food goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane — a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide.

About 6% to 8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we stop wasting food. 

Hence, as the world’s population continues to grow, our challenge should not be how to grow more food, but to feed more people while wasting less of what we already produce.

Food wastage is also a recurring problem here in Malaysia and needs to be addressed properly.

As Malaysians, the least we can do is play an equal part in trying to reduce as much waste as we can.


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