Marcus Ng Yao Jie (FOS) , Aloysius Eng Wei Jun (FOS) , Zhai Jun (FOS), Zhou Tianyi (FOS)
Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin
Singaporeans produce on average 1.011 million tons of paper waste every year, yet 67% are unaware of the non-recyclability of soiled paper packaging, hence leading to improper recycling and contamination of recycling bins. Given that soiled paper packaging cannot be recycled, our objective was to come up with a sustainable and convenient method in order to repurpose non-recyclable waste paper. We investigated optimal mushroom growing conditions to design an efficient DIY mushroom growing kit using waste paper bags from RVRC’s dining hall, and conducted a workshop to assess the resident’s receptivity towards these kits. We determined that waste paper bags were partially successful as a substrate for mushroom growth and 86% of the workshop attendees, after using the kits themselves, were willing to do it again. Hence, our DIY mushroom growth kits are effective in repurposing non-recyclable food-soiled waste paper.