Singapore is using insects to tackle its problem of food wastage

Insects armed with voracious appetites are being bred in Singapore to eat discarded food. What comes out of the insects is used as plant fertiliser. Have a look.

Globally, a third of food produced for consumption is wasted, totaling about 1.3 billion tons. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Black soldier flies are found all across Singapore. While the adults do not eat as their sole purpose is to mate, the larvae eat almost any organic matter and can stomach up to four times their weight a day. They are capable of converting three tons of food waste into one ton of fertilizers per week.
 

Insectta, Singapore's first urban insect farm, can only get food waste from breweries and soybean manufacturers due to regulations as of now, but they are finding a way to collect waste food in restaurants.

Food accounts for about 10 per cent of the total waste generated in Singapore, but only 13 per cent of it is recycled. The rest of it is disposed for incineration, which produces greenhouse gases.

The government works hard to reduce waste. In February, the Singaporean government pledged 2019 as the year of "zero waste." The Minister for Environment and Water Resources also launched a year-long movement to lower food wastage, encouraging people to order only what they can finish.