Nair Tania Santosh, Rachel Mark Yuen Yee, Sunaga Ryuto, Yap Hui Xuan Rachel
Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay
We live in a society based on linear metabolism that has led us to deplete our resources at an unsustainable rate. Singapore has designated the year 2019 towards becoming a zero-waste country and a circular metabolism system can aid in this. Even in RVRC, a residential college based on sustainable living concepts, residents are still attuned to living in abundance with a throw-away mentality. Hence, this project aims to investigate the feasibility of producing fruit detergents created from fruit waste in RVRC, to implement the circular metabolism system.
The project followed a two-way data collection involving surveys and physical data collection. These allowed for the analysis of the amount of fruit waste generated in RVRC, and how feasible it is to substitute commercial detergents with fruit detergents. 50 participants partook in pre- and post- fruit enzyme exposure surveys to understand user engagement with the enzyme. A week-long study of the fruit wastage in the college dining hall was also conducted to estimate the quantity of fruit waste required to produce sufficient detergent for the RC.
The amount of waste collected from the dining hall per week is about 7.8 kg. By collecting the fruit waste for a month, we are able to make sufficient fruit detergent that sustains 600 residents for one semester. As such, the results have shown that there is potential in making a sustainable system that produces fruit detergent from the fruit waste in RVRC to substitute currently used detergents for all the residents.
Keywords: Food waste; circular metabolism; upcycling; Waste management