Insidewaste___PREBIND_LR August 2016 | Page 43

// Food waste Food is viewed as vital to national identity in Singapore but despite its love for food, the nation state generated 800,000t of food waste in 2015. (Image of a Singaporean favourite, chicken rice. (Credit: Jonathan Lin, Flickr CC) Leading the food waste agenda in Asia Achieving a circular economy with zero food waste is the collective responsibility of government, academia, private enterprises, non-government organisations and consumers. It is also a constantly evolving issue across the globe, with most countries now beginning to address the issue fully. Singapore, with its track record of balancing the needs of urban development with protecting the environment, along with novel waste and cleaning management solutions, is keen to lead the conversation on food waste and it has used the biennial CleanEnviro Summit Singapore 2016 held in July as a platform for policy makers, academia and industry players Weekly news updates at www.BEN-global.com/waste to exchange ideas and insights on the circular economy, including the effective management and reduction of food waste. These insights will be critical for the long-term sustainable development of not only this food-loving nation of ours, but for the world at large. Dalson Chung is the director of the National Environment Agency (NEA) and managing director of CleanEnviro Summit Singapore. He joined Singapore’s Ministry of Environment (ENV) in 1984 and has held various appointments in different departments in the ministry and NEA, including chief engineer (waste minimisation) in the NEA’s Resource iw Conservation Department. AUGUST 2016 INSIDEWASTE 43