Waste Management

AY1819G58- “Composting”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Food, Waste Management

Andy Low Yi Soon, Chaudhari Parimal Prashant, Chou Han Xian Aaron, Faruq Yunus Alsagoff, Yeo Yak Hang

Academic Advisor: Dr. Florence Ng

Over the past ten years, the food waste recycling rate has been stagnated between 10%- 16%, with significant portions of food waste still being incinerated (NEA, 2018). Composting can be used as an effective method to recycle daily food waste from Singaporean households (Khoo et al., 2010). Upon conducting a preliminary survey, our team has discovered that most households dump their food waste indiscriminately, with many respondents citing smell and lack of composting knowledge as their primary reasons for not composting. The experiment aims to provide an effective and efficient method of composting tailored towards alleviating concerns regarding performing composting indoors. Our group will explore two types of composting methods, black soldier fly larvae, and blue Malaysian worms. Using specific amounts and types of food waste, we will reach a conclusion regarding which method is best suited to the household environment. We promoted these methods to households through the distribution of instructional materials to increase the composting knowledge of our target population. Finally, a post-experiment survey was conducted to measure changes in individuals’ perceptions and receptiveness towards adopting composting practices at home, which was used to gauge the effectiveness of our project.

Keywords: Composting, Food Waste

AY1819G55- “Edible Cutlery”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Food, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chehak Bhandari, Jessica Phua Shu Xin, Ming Yifan, Ng Siu Hian, Ye Yuxiang

Academic Advisor: Dr. Florence Ng

The improper disposal of huge amounts of plastic waste has caused serious environmental issues around the world. Disposable plastic cutlery, one of the sources of plastic waste, has significant negative impacts on marine wildlife, because disposed plastic cutlery in the ocean is frequently ingested by marine animals, which can cause their death (Wilcox et al., 2016). Disposable cutlery is widely used because of its convenience and low cost, and consumers usually do not have another option apart from plastic cutlery when taking away food. Our project thus aims to promote edible cutlery as an alternative to plastic cutlery within Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) and test students’ receptivity to it. To achieve this, we came up with our own recipe for edible cutlery, and there were a total of three rounds of testing. In the first two tests, we examined the edible cutlery we made in terms of usability, taste, and quality, and we also invited our friends to try our cutlery. Based on the feedback we collected, we made our third batch with two flavours, Italian herbs and vanilla. We then brought the cutlery to students in the dining hall and conducted a post-survey to collect their feedback. The results of our post-survey shows that students were generally receptive towards our edible cutlery and more than half of them were willing to continue to use it. They also gave valuable suggestions on how to improve them. Looking forward, we could implement our project throughout NUS.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Food waste, Food

AY1819G49- “Saving Waste with Containsil”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Liu Yutong, Mo Zongran, Quek Min Kiat Nickson, Zhong Zhiming, Goh Yen Ther

Academic Advisor: Mr. N Sivasothi

Plastic waste is a major global problem. In Singapore, only 6% of 815,200 tonnes of plastic waste  was recycled in 2017 (NEA, 2017). Based on ZeroWasteSG’s (2016) estimate, some 30-70% of total plastic waste were single-use disposables, such as takeaway containers.Our project “Saving Waste with CONTAINSIL” aims to reduce material wastage by NUS consumers with single-use utensils with an alternative design. This will integrate fork/spoon into takeaway containers and be perforated ao as to be easily pushed out of container lids. 88% of 86 respondents indicated that they have takeaway meals between 1 to 5 times a week, and most indicated these were for rice dishes, which the design thus targetted. 90% also indicated they do take plastic utensils, reflecting a high demand.  Most (90%) also expressed interest in our idea. based on our calculations on the monthly use of containers within NUS canteens, this design could lead to a reduction of some 245 kg of plastic waste per month.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Plastic, Takeaway containers, Containers, Utensils

AY1819G48- “End Food Shaming”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Food, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chen Hui Li, Koh Jin Qi, Sarah Koh En Hui, Yong Jin Hao Brandon, Liu Yutong

Academic Advisor: Mr. N Sivasothi

In Singapore, food waste comprises of the highest portion of solid waste composition (Bai, 2000).  A component of food waste is “ugly food”, or food which is deemed unattractive and thus “not saleable” (de Hooge et al., 2018). For ugly food to be redirected from food waste, it must be accessible to potential consumers. Here, we seek to  persuade online grocers to sell ugly food to improve its accessibility and convenience. We first participated in an SGFoodRescue rescue event, to gain insights into the wasteful disposal of fruits and vegetables in Singapore. With high volume and affordability, we directed efforts at approaching major online grocers such as Redmart and NTUC. This did not elicit a response, while amongst small grocers, only UnPackt responded initially. We concluded that interest in the viability of ugly food consumption first requires a boost, so we compiled a video of undergraduate responses towards ugly food through blind taste tests and interviews. With this video, we will revisit the issue with online grocers, environmental activists and sustainability-centred social media accounts to boost consideration of the issue.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Food Waste, Ugly food, Food

AY1819G47 – “Reducing soya by-product wastage through repurposing of Okara”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Dong Haiping, Tong Jia Heng, Kezia Kew, Liao Meng, Shawn Ho

Academic Advisor: Ms. Wong Kah Wei

Okara is the waste by-product of soybean, derived from the production of soya products such as soymilk and tofu. Okara wastage is a significant issue in Singapore, with almost 10,000 tonnes discarded annually. Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to identify new ways to repurpose okara to reduce its wastage. The initial method was to develop a prototype DIY mushroom growing kit utilising okara. This was done by substituting okara as a component of the growing substrate, taken from a commercial kit developed by Kin Yan Agrotech Pte. Ltd. Various technical issues were encountered in the primary testing stage, and changes made during secondary testing did not effectively solve these issues. Requiring further research, it was concluded that using okara to grow mushrooms might not be an easy, viable option of repurposing okara. The second method was using okara in baked goods. This was done by modifying online recipes of vegan okara chocolate brownies, thereafter holding a focus group session for demonstration and taste test. According to post-session surveys, tasters had generally positive comments about the brownies, and they agreed that the baking process is simple and easy-to-follow. Therefore, it was concluded that using okara for baking is a suitable, viable option of repurposing okara.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Okara, Soya, Repurpose

AY1819G42 – “Karanguni 2.0 – An Initiative to Advance Towards a Circular Economy”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Waste Management

He Songchi, Pranay S. Mohnot, Teng Chen Liang, Teo Wei Jie Shaun, Wang Ziyun

Academic Advisor:  Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

Consumers are straining landfills with massive amounts of waste and incessantly buying products with significant carbon and water footprints. Motivated by a stagnant recycling rate in Singapore, we have launched a Telegram peer-to-peer trading channel for NUS students and staff. On this platform, members can list items for donation and claim items already listed via simple messages. A survey conducted to gauge the receptivity of students to such a platform yielded promising results as over 80% of respondents showed interest in donating or using second-hand items. A large proportion of respondents also reported disposing of various usable items every semester, signaling the potential of such a platform. While similar trading platforms already exist, our project differentiates itself as it increases the accessibility of such a service by implementing it in a popular messenger application. Since the launch of our Telegram channel, we have facilitated multiple item transfers and amassed over 50 members. All claimants indicated that they were satisfied by the condition of items received and if not for this platform, 75% of them would have gone on to buy a similar new item elsewhere. Reinforcing our promise of convenience, all transfers were made in RVRC and were completed at least 18 hours faster than the fastest transaction on the pre-existing trading platform. We have successfully met our objective of sparking joy through the sharing of used items and fostered an awareness of the potential of item upcycling.

Keywords: waste management; online applications; circular economy

AY1819G32- “Food Waste Dining Hall”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Food, Waste Management

Lim Yu Ling Victoria, Muhammad Faryz Bin Khazid, Ong Jing Ting, Sathappan Aishwarya, Tan Yugin

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye

Reducing food waste in higher education institutes is worth investigating because food wasted in such institutions is significant. We aim to launch our measures in RVRC and eventually expand to other residential colleges in NUS if they are successful. Our goal is to tackle food wastage through both a digital platform and physical measures, by reducing both the amount of food that is cooked but not taken by diners, and the leftovers generated by diners at the end of meal services. We obtained data from caterer Chartwells on the amount of food waste before and after our trial, and conducted a survey on food waste patterns in RVRC to determine the main causes of food wastage. In the survey, nearly half the respondents mentioned that they fail to finish the food on their plate “sometimes” or more frequently. Of those, over half cited portion sizes being too large as a main reason for their plate waste, while over 75% indicated that quality of food was also a factor. Based on these results, we implemented strategies to tackle both significant causes of wastage. We developed a Telegram chatbot to provide an improved channel for diners to provide feedback on their meals. We also introduced a self-serve rice station for diners to adjust their rice portions based on their needs, and allowed free takeaway of meals during the end of a meal service to reduce leftovers. Our trial produced promising results for self-serve rice stations as an immediate means of reducing food waste, and for the Telegram chatbot as a way to improve the quality of dining hall food, thereby reducing wastage caused by diner dissatisfaction.

Keywords: Food, Food Waste, Dining Hall, Chatbot, Telegram

AY1819G24 – “Effects of presenting Plate Waste Records”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Food, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Koh Kiang Ee Kenji, Lim En-Lye Perrie, Loh Wei Kiat, Tan Wei Hao Jonathan, Tay Sheryl

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Globally, one-third of food produced for human consumption is wasted (Gustafsson, Cederberg, Sonesson and Emanuelsson, 2013). In Singapore, food waste is also a rising concern with an alarming 40% increase over the past decade (NEA, 2018). Strategies employed for the producer side of food waste have yielded positive results in tackling this issue (Oliver Wyman, 2014). In contrast, efforts expended on the consumer side to reduce their plate waste were mostly rudimentary and devoid of systematic evaluation (Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, 2012). The purpose of our study was to augment the current strategies of plate waste reduction with choice architecture principles in the Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) dining hall.

Our preliminary field research and survey of Yale-NUS current plate waste monitoring system showed that individuals are more compelled to reduce their waste when comparative figures are presented. Therefore, we implemented a waste monitoring system in RVRC for three weeks that utilised norm-based messaging and community approach to nudge individuals to reduce plate waste. The system displayed an individual’s plate waste amount against two other comparative figures: a constantly updated average plate waste amount and the target plate waste amount for the community. Collected data showed that our system effectively

raised the consciousness of plate waste in the RVRC community because of significantly reduced overall plate waste. Based on the results obtained in our study, we recommend incorporating a comparative plate waste display across NUS campus dining halls to reduce food waste by students.

Keywords: Waste, Food, Responsible Consumption

AY1819G23 – “Project Bottle Battle”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Water

Akshai Vengat, Ang Jamais, Bethanie Kwok Su Ling, Neo Rui En Wayne, Rachael Rosanna Powell

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Bottled water is associated with many environmental issues: carbon footprint over its life-cycle, non-biodegradable at end-of-life, and pollution generated during disposal by incineration. Singapore has easy access to high-quality drinking water, and the problem must be addressed by a reduction in the consumption of bottled water. We surveyed NUS students to measure their bottled water consumption and understand their perception of water coolers and tap water on campus. The results identified mistrust in water quality from coolers/tap water and insufficient signage about cooler locations on campus as key issues.

Our group adopted a three-pronged approach. We addressed the issue of student awareness with informational posters as studies indicate that posters are an effective method for conveying knowledge and gaining audience attention (Rowe & Ilic, 2009). This was followed by an art exhibition at the RVRC Dining Hall, using single-use water bottles collected from RVRC bins to measure and creatively raise awareness of plastic bottle consumption rates within the residential college. Our final step was the design and launch of a prototype web application of water cooler locations within NUS campus, launched in conjunction with PUB World Water Day. It incorporates navigational features to direct students to cooler locations on campus. Our data indicates that students are willing to change their habits once the awareness gap about water quality is addressed. Student use of our mobile application was also very favourable and we are in contact with NUS Maps for an integration of this app for campus-wide use.

Keywords: Water, Waste, Responsible Consumption, Plastics

AY1819G21 – “Plastic Awareness Toolkit for Primary school students”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Ang Jing Han, Clarice Nicole Lee Si Hui, Lim Ding Neng, Roxanne Moh Jia Yu, Tay Jun Yang

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

The plastic pollution problem is an issue that affects marine biodiversity around the world. It also has devastating impacts on land ecosystems and makes its way into the food that we consume. One of the ways to increase youth’s environmental awareness is by educating them on the severity of this problem and methods to reduce plastic waste. This research project aims to measure the efficiency of environmental education workshops for students, and test their ability to retain taught information when it is shared in an interactive workshop format.

We tailored an environmental education workshop regarding single-use plastic packaging, targeted at the Primary 3 students in Singapore. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were used to determine student attitudes and learning. The data collected from the surveys was be analysed using SPSS Anova t-tests at a significance level of 0.05. Based on our findings, we recommend that more extensive testing should be done to corroborate our results and determine if such workshops and teaching methods can be adopted by MOE for enhancing student knowledge about sustainability issues in Singapore and to positively influence student behaviour to be more sustainable.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Waste, Education

AY1819G20 – “EnviRental Fashion”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Koh Min, Li Jiaxin, Stephanie Toh Kay Wai, Sukrit Jaiswal, Wilkin Giam Jing Han

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

The textile industry is one of the top three contributors to carbon emissions in the world, with Fast Fashion being one of the major factors. The trend for sustainable fashion solutions such as rental fashion has slowly been on the rise (Hooker, 2018). However, a previous GEQ project identified that the root cause for the failure of such sharing models was ‘the disparity between awareness and actions’ attributed to a lack of financial incentive (GEQ G11, 2016). Our project aims to measure the level of awareness among university students about the impact of fast fashion and investigate their receptivity towards rental fashion as a potential solution, when coupled with an inbuilt financial incentive.

We conducted a survey among NUS students (excluding RVRC), to assess their awareness of the environmental impact of fashion, and found that most respondants significantly underestimate the environmental impacts of fast fashion. We then volunteered at the EcoBank Bazaar national event to conduct a focus group analysis and identified key factors that impact receptivity towards sustainable fashion solutions such as clothes swapping and rental. Lastly, we interviewed leading sustainable fashion companies in Singapore such as The Fashion Pulpit and ClosetShare, who shared insights on the business challenges in the nascent rental fashion industry. Using the key indicators of our research, we piloted a formal clothes rental solution at RVRC. Our pilot test findings are concurrent with our research – that in addition to sustainability awareness, financial incentive is a key determinant of success for such fashion solutions.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Waste, Fashion

 

AY1819G18 – “Raising the awareness of recycling of food through food enzyme solution preparation”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Food, Waste Management

Andrew Yeo Jung Yeat, Chloe Lau Jia Yee, Eng Wee Long, Kong Qi Herng, Tan Jia Le Damien

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

The issue of food waste is detrimental to the environment and “if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world” (Royte, 2016). Furthermore, an estimated 40% of the food losses occur at the final consumer level consumed (Gustavsson, Cederberg, Sonesson, Otterdijk, & Meybeck, 2011). This issue can thus be mitigated through the collective effort of individual consumers. As consumers do not realize the level of food waste generated (De Coverly, McDonagh, O’Malley, & Patterson, 2008), it is therefore imperative to raise awareness on this issue and inculcate a culture of recycling food waste. Our project explored households’ awareness of food wastage and their methods of managing food waste through our survey on consumers (of various ages). 85% of the respondents discard their fruit peels instead of recycling them. In response to this, we conducted workshops to teach consumers how to produce a food enzyme solution. We reached out to RVRC residents and the members of the public and educated them on the uses of food enzymes and the method of developing a food enzyme solution. Results from the workshops showed that than 97% of our participants (n=76) were willing to recycle their fruit peels. The participants also became more cognizant of the existing food wastage issues. Moreover, respondents were willing to share what they learned from our workshops with their family and friends. Thus, this suggests the success of our outreach as participants are spreading the idea of garbage enzyme through word of mouth. In conclusion, we have successfully met our project objective of encouraging households to use garbage enzyme as a substitute for commercial cleaning agents, thereby demonstrating the possibility of up-scaling garbage enzyme making and thereby further spreading this idea to more people.

Keywords: Food waste; upcycling; waste management

AY1819G17 – “Reducing fruit peels food waste disposal through a college-wide initiative”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2018/19, Food, Waste Management

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

AY1718G20.1 – “The Door Gift Conundrum”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chew Yu Ning, Lynn, Lee Wei Bin, Liu Yingnan, Natalie Phang Suet Yee, Toh Yong Jian

Academic Advisor: Mr. N Sivasothi
Industry Advisor: Earthys

Event Organisers provide door gifts as they think that event-goers want and expect it. However, observations of campus events point to disposal without use of many item types. In this project, we investigated the importance of door gifts in attracting event-goers and the possibility of reducing such resource investment and wastage. With an online survey, 169 event goers, aged 18-65, were evaluated for their views and preferences for door gifts. Event Organisers were interviewed to understand why they choose to provide door gifts and if they were willing to accept sustainable solutions. The results suggested door gifts are not a critical factor to event-goers in choosing to attend an event and Event Organisers were willing to consider sustainable solutions. With the trend of receiving door gifts, however, door gifts reduction, first through sustainable alternatives could be attempted gradually over time.

Keywords: Waste, Event waste, Door gifts, Habits survey, Responsible consumption

AY1718G17.2 – “Trends in Single-use plastic bottled water amongst tourists in Singapore”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Waste Management

Lee Hong Wei, Liu Yiyang, Low Ci Hao, Gabriel, Seow Song-en, Latasha, Wee Yingsheng, Benjamin

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay
Industry Advisor: X-hebit

Single-use water bottles are extremely common in the tourism industry, although there are alternatives such as water dispensers and water coolers. Our project seeks to understand the extent of plastic bottled water consumption amongst tourists as well as the factors which tourists take into account when making a decision.

Keywords: Waste, Plastic waste, Tourism, Bottled Water

AY1718G17.1 – “Optimising spent coffee grounds for mushroom growth”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Food, Waste Management

Bai Sin Yeou, Huo Lushuang, Khoo Han Sheng, Marcus, Sew Wen Xin

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

Singapore alone consumes about 2.1kg coffee per capita and the spent coffee grounds (SCGs) produced brings about significant waste disposal issues. By tapping on its high nutrient and energy content, SCGs can be added into composts and be used to promote plant or fungi growth. To further minimise household waste, the group investigates the idea of creating modular mushroom growth kits using SCG and growing in containers made from household wastes (plastic bottles and milk cartons). The team also plans to find out optimum conditions for mushroom growth to occur indoors and share it with households.

Keywords: Waste, Coffee grounds, Food waste, Urban farming, Recycling

AY1718G16.1 – “A Price on Ugly”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Heng Zhang Min, Lee Si Xian, Rupanshi Chugh, Toh Huang En, Yeo Ying De

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin
Industry Advisor: Sodexo

Whenever we go shopping for groceries, we place enormous amounts of emphasis on the appearance of food products, completely neglecting ugly fruits and vegetables, as though they are not nutritious. This behaviour is not only observed in consumers, but even food importers who reject food based on appearances. Our project examines the current state of ugly produce in Singapore and attempts to understand the general perceptions of wholesalers and consumers towards them. Through the use of surveys, observational studies and interviews, we aim to investigate the perceptions of Singaporean wholesalers and consumers towards ugly produce, as well as the possible effectiveness of pricing to influence consumers’ purchasing habits. From our study, we question the assumption that ugly fruits and vegetables are present in Singapore and emphasise that “ugly” is a highly subjective concept.

Keywords: Food waste, ugly food, cosmetic filtering, pasir panjang wholesales market, consumer perception

 

AY1718G14.3 – “Trends in Events within NUS: Identify Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Environmental Sustainability”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Waste Management

Chua Ru Min Stacy, Du Sibo, Lim Kai Wei, Loo Shu Hui, Serene, Teh Hian Yong Thaddaeus

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay
Industry Advisor: X-hebit

The aim of our project is to understand how events are being organized in NUS and whether there is sufficient action to incorporate sustainability in events. Thereafter, a sustainable guideline will be crafted to help event organizers introduce the element of sustainability in future events. Both event organizers and event participants were interviewed to obtain a reasonable and balanced viewpoint on potential sustainability guidelines that will benefit both parties, as well as to assess their willingness and perception on events being more sustainable in the future.

Keywords: Waste, Event waste, paper waste, Surveys, Green guidelines

AY1718G10.3 – “Marketing and Food Waste”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Waste Management

Gao Jingyi, Phua Jia Hao, Tay Lu Chi Louisa, Wang Mo Shu, Zhang Yihan

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin
Industry Advisor: Sodexo

Food waste occurs in many stages of the food supply chain. Our project focuses on marketing practices in supermarkets in Singapore, and its relation to food waste. Focusing on marketing practices on non-perishable food items in supermarkets, we look to answer the following questions: Is there a relationship between marketing and food waste? Do the marketing practices spur consumers to purchase more than needed, and therefore result in food waste? Are there differences in responses across different age groups? We zoomed in to three marketing practices: (1) tags on price displays, (2) “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” promotions, and (3) large packaging.

Keywords: Waste, supermarket, on-site survey, marketing strategies

AY1718G09.1 – “Using a Chatbot to reduce plate waste”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chen Jiahao, Chew Yu Cheng, Lee Yi De, Madeline Ng Qi Xuan, Ng U – Hui Gideon

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye
Industry Advisor: Sodexo

There is a significant economic and sustainable opportunity in reducing food waste by consumers. The aim of this project is to go beyond posters to make the consumer feel they are actively contributing to this reduction. Our group has created a Telegram Chatbot to encourage students to reduce food waste. This Chatbot helps to track data of each person such that they are able to view their personal and group statistics. It is hoped that by making participants more aware about the amount of food waste they generate, they will make a conscious effort to reduce their food waste. The food waste was manually measured, with avoidable food waste being separated from unavoidable, and the data was uploaded to a spreadsheet. Our group set a benchmark of 100g of daily food waste per participant and after 3 weeks of pilot testing, we hope that every participant will achieve this goal.

Keywords: Waste management, Responsible Consumption, Chatbot, Apps, Food waste

AY1718G08.3 – “The Door Gift Conundrum”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Waste Management

Chanda Akshaykumar Veersain, Cheryl Soh, Cyrus Lim Lek Wee, Dominic Frank Quek Ci Hao, Lee Yi Wei, Joel

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay
Industry Advisor: X-hebit

Tradeshows and events have a trend of giving out goodie bags and door gifts to the event goers. The production of the items found inside these goodie bags require significant amount of energy and resources. Their subsequent disposal also poses another significant environmental problem. Our project aims to inquire event goers whether the goodie bags are useful and preferable by them. The project also aims to evaluate the reasons why event organisers are giving out door gifts and find more environmentally friendly alternatives. This data can be presented to event organisers to effect greener door gifts.

Keywords: Waste, Door Gifts, Paper Waste, Conferences

AY1718G05.2 – “Composting as a means of reducing spent coffee grounds (SCG) waste”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Waste Management

Andy Lim Chau Sheen, Justin Chia Yi Pin, Leong Wai Ying, Neo Siao Eng, Kym, Samuel Ong Keng Cheong

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

Coffee consumption generates significant waste as spent coffee grounds (SCG) are often incinerated and discarded in landfills. Little has been done to address the waste issue in Singapore, despite rising coffee consumption. Our project seeks to use composting as a means to reuse SCG. A group of home gardeners were surveyed and a majority (>70%) have open attitudes and knowledge about SCG composting. An experiment was also conducted using kang kong (Ipomoea aquatica) to determine the effect of SCG compost on plant growth. The results demonstrated the possibility of using SCG compost to grow plants.

Keywords: Waste, Composting, Coffee Grounds, Food Waste, Urban Farming

AY1718G01.2 – “People come and go but the plastic bottle stays”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2017/18, Waste Management

Nam Gimin, Phoebe Yap Xiou Ching, Yogusvi Tewari, Zhang Cheng

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin
Industry Advisor: X-hebit

This project aims to find out the trends in plastic bottled water usage among tourists in Singapore through a better understanding of their mindsets. From street surveys at tourist locations, we found out that convenience was a major factor motivating tourists to buy plastic bottled water instead of bringing their own water bottles to refill. The results also revealed that age was another major factor which affected water consuming habits. Surprisingly, the country of origin of the tourists had little impact on their behaviour towards plastic bottle consumption. Eager to find out more? Join us in discovering the reasons behind the behaviour of tourists which can hopefully provide us with potential solutions to reduce plastic bottle usage in Singapore!

Keywords: Waste reduction, plastic bottle, tourists, Cultural and Lifestyle Trends, street survey

AY1617G21C – “Reducing straw usage in NUS: A case study of consumer and retailer response in RVRC dining outlets”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Foo Rui Hao James (FoE), Goh Zoey (FoS), Kuan Jie Hui Eugene (FASS), Lin Chenxi (FoE), Pang Jia Hao (FoS)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Wong Kah Wei

Straws are given out with virtually every drink you purchase. Plastic straws are among the top 10 marine debris. More than 6 million straws were removed from coastal cleanups (Montgomery, 2014). Straws are made of petroleum plastics. The plastic straw production process contributes to global warming as well as fossil fuel depletion. Straws which are disposed end up in landfills and dumps which have a great impact on the environment. Straws that end up in the oceans pose a great threat to marine life who consume them by accident (Scher, 2016). This staggering amount of straws polluting the environment prompted us to find out the feasibility of reducing straw usage in RVRC dining outlets. To better understand our high straw usage, we plan to investigate the reasons students choose to use straws. This will help us decide on the best approach to tackling this problem. We intend to draft a survey to gauge the awareness among the RVRC students of straw usage. Based on the results, we would craft our strategies to most effectively discourage the usage of straws, starting with retailers where RVRC food vouchers can be used. Our group has narrowed down to target Royal Bistro as our industry partner due to their willingness to work with us on this project to become a more sustainable dining outlet.

Keywords: Waste Management, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption

AY1617G21A – “Cash For Trash”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Eunice Tay (FASS), Nguyen Thanh Son (CEG), Ramdin Robin (FoE), Somesh Dev S/O Mohan (FoS), Tan Ke Yu (FoE)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Wong Kah Wei
Industry Advisor: Mr. Hor Chor Kiat (UCI, NUS)

Universities provide students resources ranging from transportation to the use of paper. Paper is used in all aspects of academic learning, ranging from books to lectures notes and assignments. According to a study conducted at the Minnesota State University, approximately 2.4 billion pages of paper were used in an academic year. A third of the papers were discarded instantly, while the remaining were neglected. Apart from filling up landfills, paper also contributes to the release of Greenhouse Gases such as methane. Methane traps heat 21 times more effectively than carbon dioxide. In Singapore, 1.2 million of paper waste is generated of which only, 51% of it is recycled. With this worrying trend of paper waste, we decided to focus our project on recycled paper generated by RVRC students. The scope of narrowing our project to this local level is to manage the constraints of limited manpower and to collect data efficiently. Our project aims to incentivize the recycling of paper by showing how much money could be generated from recycled paper which is sold. The money collected from the sale could be used to sustain this endeavour. To test out our idea, we decided to use RVRC as a platform for research and data collection.We intend to create our own recycling points to improve the locations and frequency of bins. We will collect the recycled papers disposed by RVRC students to estimate how much paper could be collected regularly. We will quantify how much paper is disposed in bins through a weighing system. We propose to be the middleman between recycling companies and RVRC students. Additionally, surveys will be conducted prior and after the test run to gauge and obtain feedback on this initiative. With data analysis, we hope to draw insights to develop a conceptual plan to show how paper sold to recycling paper companies is an option to incentivize people to recycle paper.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Waste paper

AY1617G17C – “Converge and Convert”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chan Yu Wai, Wilson (Business School), Lau Kin On (FoS), Liu Hang (SoC), Ng Wei Sin (FoE), Tse Qing Le Benjamin (FoE), Yee Cheng Xi (FASS)

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

Despite years of government-led efforts to promote recycling, the recycling rates in Singapore remain low. In recent studies, it has been found that one method of achieving higher recycling rates was to get people to come together to recycle, and make recycling a community-based activity. In light of this, our group decided to test if such a social event, Converge and Convert, could increase the recycling rates in Ridge View Residential College. We carry out our experiments on residents of Block A and B. Our event will be held at lounge A on Wednesdays on weeks 7 to 9, from 10pm to 11pm. During this event, Block A and B residents would bring their recyclables to the lounge. Our group would weigh and record the recyclables by their categories of plastics, paper and metals. To encourage participants to come for the event and to help nurture the recycling culture, the event will include mini games as well as an unknown prize to entice the residents. At the end of the events, comparisons would be made of the quantity of recyclables in the recycling bins at Block B, before and after the social events, to determine the project’s success.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, social events, recycling incentives

AY1617G17B – “Straw Wars”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Deborah Jasmine (FoS), Foo Chui Ching (FASS), Lee Xin Ying Esther (FASS), Liu Hao Ren (FoE), Melanie Ng Suli (CEG)

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

Our Project “Straw Wars” aims to reduce plastic straw usage by providing alternatives to straws. Plastic straws are often regarded as disposal and insignificant. However, because they have a short lifespan of about 20 minutes, are widely used and non-biodegradable, plastic straws is actually one of the most common plastic waste and the top marine trash on Singapore’s coasts. While our preliminary survey on straw usage found that 66.9% of the respondents used straws because of convenience and not of necessity, it is likely difficult to alter people’s habits to not using straws. Thus, although it is hard to recycle straws, their demand would likely stay. Our group aim to replace straws with biodegradable ones. In our preliminary survey, our proposal of edible straws were well received by 70% of the participant. We will exploring two types of edible straws, one will be based on Gelatin or Agar Agar and the second will be flour based. We aim to distribute the straw prototypes and recommend our edible straws to users during the upcoming RVRC events. From there, we will be able to gather their responses and check their receptiveness towards our edible straws.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, edible straw, bio-degradable

AY1617G16B – “NU$ell: How can we reduce the wastage from transient hostel residents?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Ashwin Kumaar Raviraj (FoE), Gundlapalli Prithvi (FoS), Karthikeyan Kavitha (FoE), Peter Bruce Gale (FoS), Sarah Cheong Cheng Wen (FoS), Toh Wei Li (FASS)

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye

The start of every new semester at National University of Singapore (NUS) sees new student residents moving into campus. This is typically accompanied by the discarding of previous residents’ belongings such as lamps, wi-fi routers, cooking utensils, irons and clothes. A large percentage of these discarded items are typically in good and re-usable condition, but are still consigned as waste. This trend is largely driven by a culture of convenience. Our project aims to take a simple step towards achieving a zero-waste society by reducing this source of preventable waste through a pilot test on Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) residents. The study categorises residents into three groups – local, international and exchange students. We believe that this classification effectively reflects their varied consumption and resulting waste habits. For example, exchange students typically purchase more new items than the other resident groups because they do not bring all items of daily necessity from their homes overseas. We will first conduct a survey and collect data from relevant campus agencies and the three RVRC student resident groups to identify the source and quantify the magnitude of waste. We will then review the impact of existing measures and suggest modifications and additional initiatives. Our main initiative is a system for reusing or renting commonly-needed items (such as hangers, stand fans, desk lights, room decoration, etc). Promotion of re-use of these items could be done through a bazaar at RVR Annexe or through an app. We will also explore the option of selling items to second-hand dealers or donating them to charities. To maximise effectiveness, our solutions would have to be convenient for the target student audience, thereby leveraging on their inherent culture of convenience.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Recycling, Reusing

AY1617G16A – “Reusable Bags: Good Monster or Bad Monster?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Elizabeth Chew Ting Xin (FASS), Hanny Putri Pranata (FoS), Hoong Yao Yang (FoS), Kwa Zhi Ying (FoE), Liu Quyang (FoE)

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye

Reusable bags, such as non-woven polypropylene bags and cotton bags, have been viewed as an environmentally friendlier alternative to single-use plastic bags as they can be made from recycled materials and are relatively durable. However, there is a lack of public awareness on the significantly larger carbon footprint left behind by each reusable bag as compared to that of each single-use plastic bag. In 2011, the UK Environmental Agency conducted a study on the environmental impact of various supermarket carrier bags and concluded that non-woven polypropylene bags and cotton bags need to be reused at least 11 and 131 times respectively to compensate for the higher carbon emission of each bag. In the National University of Singapore (NUS), reusable bags are often employed by student committees and organisations as a means to distribute freebies and pamphlets during school events such as the annual NUS Open Day. As a result of the high volume of such events on campus, students tend to receive and hoard a significant number of reusable bags with most of them remaining relatively unused. Therefore, we aim to maximise the use of each reusable bag owned by NUS students, because we see the need for all NUS students to set an example and take ownership of their own carbon footprint. Our group implemented a system in NUS where preowned reusable bags are collected, sanitized and then placed around the campus for reuse. We piloted this idea with the installation of ‘Feed Me’ reusable bag collection boxes in RVRC. This was followed by ‘Take Me’ reusable bag distribution boxes around the commercial areas of NUS, such as outside the NUS Co-Op. The results of our pilot will help to gauge if our idea can be implemented on a larger scale around other educational institutions in Singapore.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Resusable Bags, Plastic waste

AY1617G15A – “ClothesLine: Extending a lifeline to clothes”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chiam Sheng Yeow (FoE), Huang Shaoqi Kenneth (FoS), Leong Ze Xi (FASS), Lim Yi Qian (FoE), Shane Ee Wei Lee (FASS)

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay
Industry Advisor: Mr. Aloysius Sng (Refash)

Textile waste poses a significant environmental problem in affluent countries. In Singapore, more than 150, 000 tonnes of textile waste was discarded with only 8 percent recycled. This project explores the growing unsustainability of the textile industry due to increasing textile waste and the reasons behind this, such as growing consumption and poor disposal habits. We chose NUS students as our target group because NUS students fit the profile of the largest consumer group (young adults) and hence contribute the most towards clothes wastage. Also, the reason why we’re holding this in NUS is because many students participate in existing initiatives like the Green Wardrobe and Green Bazaar. A preliminary survey on 230 NUS students during the Chinese New Year break concluded that our solution to target disposal habits should include monetary incentives and promote convenience in order to be effective. Hence, our proposed solution to reduce textile wastage is to bring the concept of thrift shops to NUS, which involves a combination of convenience and incentive to recycle. We hope that through this experience, more young adults will be more open purchasing used clothing and hence lessening the environmental impact of textile waste.

Keywords: Waste Management, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Fast Fashion, Incentives

AY1617G13A – “Sell By, Use By or Expired! Can raising awareness of food labels reduce food waste?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Food, Waste Management

Chen Xuanlin (FoS), Neo Wei Hang (FASS), Tan Jia Jia Amelia (FASS), Tay Li Na (FoE), Wang Xiaodan (SDE)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

According to a National Environment Agency study conducted in 2015, Singapore had 785,500 tonnes of food waste with only 13% of the food waste being recycled. That implies that on average, Singaporeans are wasting 140kg of food annually. To compound the issue, Singapore’s food waste has increased by 47.8% in a decade. As a small nation, reliant on imported food, a staggering 13% of its food imports ends up as waste, creating an unsustainable scenario with grave environmental implications. For processed food, a large percentage of this food waste may often result from confusing food labels that are not correctly understood or interpreted by consumers. Our project decided to explore this problem in the context of residents at the Ridge View Residential College (RVRC). A large fraction of residents purchase and store foods incorrectly in their rooms or the common pantries. This often results in food waste, evident from the numerous management-conducted food clearing exercise done in the common pantries. Our group has identified the following two points as key reasons to why this issue is happening: (1) Lack of awareness and implications of the different type of food labels, and (2) Lack of awareness of the proper storage methods of different food types. Our study will conduct surveys to measure the current awareness of RVRC residents on both these factors. We will concurrently be carrying out a college wide campaign to raise awareness about food labels and food waste through posters and social media platforms. We will document our findings and explore if increasing awareness about food labels could be an effective solution to mitigate food waste.

Keywords: Food, Waste Management, Food labelling, Food waste, Responsible consumption

AY1617G10A – “Food Waste Segregation: Is it a feasible option for common pantries at RVRC?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Felicia Farm Li Wen (FoE), Gillian Lim Hui Min (FASS), Lai Shi Wei, Valerie (FoE), Lian Jia En, Frances (FASS), Melissa Anne Lim Yu Ting (FoS), William Tin Wai Leung (SDE)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

The current, unfavorable method of disposing food waste is incineration at landfills. This results in severe environmental impacts, such as the emission of greenhouse gases, which in turn contribute to global warming. Such impacts can be reduced by recycling food waste. However, in order to recycle food waste efficiently, it has to be separated from general waste such as tissues or disposable cutlery. Our project will investigate this idea by piloting waste segregation at common pantries in Ridge View Residential College (RVRC). Over a period of 2 weeks, we will document the success of waste segregation by placing bins for the separation of food waste and general waste. We will begin this effort with an awareness campaign at RVRC using posters to inform residents in the first week. In the second week, we will remove the posters to observe if residents continue to separate food waste without being reminded. On the whole, our project aims to see if we can cultivate a culture of segregating food waste in RVRC.

Keywords: Waste Management, Food waste, Responsible Consumption, Food waste segregation

AY1617G09C – “All – Range Oranges – Giving ugly oranges a chance”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Waste Management

Arya Ravi (FASS), Calvin Ang Boon Wee (FoE), Chua Chen Loon, Wilson (FoS), Joshua Chew Zihao (FASS), Yee Chenxin Jonathan (SDE)

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

Food wastage where produce is rejected based on appearance is a significant problem. In Singapore, 300 tonnes of unsold food were discarded each month. The goal of this project is to encourage consumers to purchase aesthetically displeasing (or ugly) food, specifically oranges. This is done through short slogans displayed on posters. The posters will be placed directly above the baskets in which oranges are stocked in the NTUC Xpress at University Town on the NUS campus. We will attempt to quantify this change in attitudes by conducting surveys to compare orange selection habits before and after displaying the posters. We will also conduct on-site observations to see first-hand the effect of the posters on consumers. At the end of our project, we would like to observe positive changes in consumer’s attitude towards ugly oranges. Our long term belief is that these positive changes in consumer’s attitudes can go beyond our scope and be translated to general fruit selections and consumers islandwide.

Keywords: Waste Management, Food, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Ugly food, Food Waste

AY1617G08C – “Think Twice About Rice”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Koh Yu Jie (FoS), Le Trung Hieu (SoC), Lieu Wei Zhi Ivan (FoS), Sinchita Sathish (FASS), Teo Jin Ming (SoC)

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

With growing affluence, food waste is increasingly an issue in Singapore. Food waste can be classified into post-consumed and pre-consumed. Our group choose to tackle the issue at the pre-consumed food stage, because this will ultimately reduce the post-consumed waste. Based on our observations at various canteens and from previous group’s results, we realise that rice is the most commonly wasted dish due to a mismatch between the portion of rice served and the individuals’ appetite level. This problem can be solved by better matching the individual’s need with the amount of rice served by the vendor. We intend to implement a rice level chart where customers can specify to vendors the rice quantity that they want, thereby reducing the level of food waste. Our inspiration comes from the sugar level chart implemented by Gong-Cha, where customers have the autonomy to decide the sugar level they want. Our target stall is the mixed vegetable rice stall at Business/Computing canteen We intend work with the stall vendor to implement the more/less rice ordering system over a week, and thereafter, survey the students’ responses to verify the viability of our idea. We hope that our idea can encourage you to think twice about rice when you are eating out.

Keywords: Waste Management, food waste, rice, Cultural and Lifetstyle Trends, canteen

AY1617G07C – “One Camp, One Tree”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Aw Kailer Jonah (FoS), Caleb Lai Yiren (FASS), Cheyenne Rebecca Chew Mun Yuen (FASS), Gabriel Lye Jun Hui (FoE), Marcus Koh Wai Leong (FoS)

Academic Advisor: Mr. N Sivasothi

Our project ‘One Camp, One Tree’ addresses unnecessary paper wastage in the usage of hard copy indemnity forms. This is done by replacing the current hard copy forms with a secured online portal. By implementing this schoolwide, the project aims to save 30,000 sheets of paper. Hard copy indemnity forms serve to indemnify the institution from any injuries incurred by the participants during school activities. The online portal serves the same function and brings about additional benefits such as easier access and greater convenience for participants. Furthermore, it simplifies the data collection and collation process for the organisers. We have implemented a pilot test in Ridge View Residential College for the Coastal Cleanup event. The pilot test had a sample size of 120. After the pilot test, we collected qualitative data on the effectiveness and feasibility from the organising staff, as compared to previous sessions where the event was indemnified through the use of hard copy forms. It had garnered positive feedback from the organising team and they have adopted this procedure for subsequent RVRC events. We crafted a suitable administrative framework for organisations within NUS to adopt that would allow them to more easily use digital means for indemnity purposes instead of traditional hard copy. We then intend to promote the usage of this online platform in different faculties and residential colleges, and eventually implement it schoolwide.

Keywords: Waste Management, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Paper waste, e-forms

 

AY1617G06B – “The Coffee Ribbon Project: Can coffee grounds be given second life?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Waste Management

Ameerali Hassanali (FoS), Kommareddi Lakshmi Sirisha (FASS), Liu Renxing (FoS), Ng Choon Kiat William (FoE), Toh Yunqi Cheryl (SDE), Zhong Yibai

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

In a highly urbanized country with a 45-hour average work week like Singapore, coffee consumption is rapidly increasing. Coffee generates an average of 50 tonnes of grounds, which is incinerated together with other food waste. Besides the issue of the limited capacity of Pulau Semakau for waste disposal, wet coffee grounds present problems with waste incineration, as its incineration requires more energy. Our group aims to alleviate the problem by re-purposing coffee grounds for other uses. Through this, we aim to not just help to alleviate coffee’s polluting effect, but also create an alternative material for practical usages in daily life. By combining coffee grounds with materials such as beeswax, resin and we intend to create a material block that does not easily turn moldy, has certain tensile, strength, impact absorbent and hardness properties. To test for these desired properties, we intend to use equipment found in the engineering laboratories to obtain reliable tests and data through which we can evaluate our material. To further substantiate our material, we intend to use the same evaluation for other materials and compare that with our material to show that our material is feasible for adaptation into products.

Keywords: Waste Management, Coffee waste, Upcycling, Circular economy

AY1617G05C – “How can we reduce food wastage in RVRC fridges?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Waste Management

Chew Keng Onn (SDE), Fung Si Qi (FASS), Joy Keren Lee Ern (FoS), Tay Yu Teng (FoS), Yany Chan Ziqi (SDE)

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

Food waste in Singapore has been steadily increasing. Food spoilage from excessive groceries contributes in part to the food waste problem. In RVRC, we observe that the communal refrigerators are often packed with expired food, leading to food wastage. Expired food remains in the refrigerator long past their expiry dates. The likely reasons for these expired food include owners forgetting about the products and their expiry dates, or being irresponsible in clearing the products. The excessive and spoiled food compromises the hygiene of the communal refrigerators and takes up shared space. We aim to create a system to change the wasteful behavior of the residents. Our goal is for fridge users to take more ownership of their purchased groceries. We proposed a reminder scheme for individuals to monitor their products and a food labeling system to instill responsibilities among users. We will conduct surveys to gather a general consensus about food waste and feedback on our proposed system from common fridge users. Subsequently, we will be monitoring selected fridges across RVRC to create an inventory and categorize expiring or expired food products. We hope to better understand the issue of food wastage and hence create a solution to unnecessary food wastage, starting from the fridges of RVRC.

Keywords: Waste Management, food waste, refrigerator, Cultural and Lifestyle Trends

AY1617G02A – “Ugly Food : Different Aesthetic, Still Tastes Fantastic”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Waste Management

Fong Wei Zheng (CEG), Martyn Wong Hao Ren (CEG), Ong Jian Cheng (FoE), Tee Jun Hao (FoE), Teo Pei Yun (FASS), Yick Wan Yi (FASS)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Every year, about 65% of the global agricultural produce is lost or wasted. This is a severe issue as food production accounts for 65% of the global greenhouse gas emissions and requires extensive natural resources such as water and land. This waste is more prevalent in industrialized and medium-and-high income nations, such as Singapore. A key contributor to this waste is ‘Ugly Food’- raw produce that is rejected due to its poor visual appearance – like misshapen, discoloured or bruised fruits and vegetables. According to a survey done by Electrolux in 2015, about 83% of Singaporeans only purchase fruits and vegetables that look fresh and good, avoiding ugly food that remains largely unsold and is eventually disposed of. Their survey also showed that 75% of Singaporeans would consume ugly food if they considered it equally nutritious and delicious as other food. This shows a widespread consumer misconception about ugly food – assuming ugly food to be a source of contamination, of poor nutritional value, and a health and safety risk. Our project investigates the cause of these misconceptions in Singaporean consumers by conducting consumer surveys at NTUC FairPrice Xtra – a supermarket that sells ugly food. Our project also targets raising awareness by hosting an Ugly Food Day at Ridge View Residential College (NUS), that includes conducting a double blind test sampling of fruit juices of ‘ugly’ fruits vs normal fruits. The final aim of our project is to gather evidence to propose practical strategies to combat this problem, both on campus as well as beyond, by raising awareness and changing consumer mindsets.

Keywords: Waste Management, Food Waste, Ugly Food, Food Security, Fruits

AY1617G01C – “From Foods to Roots: a sustainable adaptation of the Berkeley Composting method in RVRC”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Waste Management

Deng Yimin (FASS), Ong Chee Kiang (FoS), Ryan Tan Wei Keat (SoC), Tan Zhan Peng (FoS), Wong Zhuo Ting (Business School)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Considering the many fruit juice stalls operated in cafeteria on the NUS campus, an abundance of fruit pulp is disposed of as waste daily. With large areas covered by landscape, significant leaf litter is also generated as waste. Composting can effectively bridge the life cycle of these easily bio-degradable wastes of fruit pulp and leaf litter by turning them into useful compost. Inspired by the setting up of the Edible Garden at Ridge View Residential College (RVRC), our project aims to explore the feasibility and pilot a a student-led sustainable composting system. We also aim to document our learning experiences in a booklet for sharing with other student groups on campus. Aligning with the goal of a student-led system, our project had three main considerations. Firstly, the composting period must not exceed the duration of a semester, since monitoring the set-up would be difficult during the long semester break. Secondly, the set-up should be easily implemented to allow subsequent student groups to take up and sustain the project. Thirdly, the system should run on little or no operating/maintenance cost, excluding initial setup cost, in order to be deemed truly sustainable. With these principal considerations, we chose to test bed the Berkeley Composting Method as the most suitable option that fulfills all three criteria; it has a short composting period of 3 weeks, requires a simple set-up procedure of 4 to 5 steps, and has no operational costs apart from initial capital. We conducted two separate staggered pilot tests, to rule out incidental variations and gauge the feasibility. We will be sharing recommendations for future attempts based on this.

Keywords: Waste Management, Composting, Food Waste, Fruit pulp,

AY1617G01B – “Self Serve Seconds: A potential strategy to reduce leftover food waste at RC Dining Halls”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2016/17, Food, Waste Management

Jermayne Teo Xuan Minn (Business School), Kion Shi Rong (SoC), Lee Si Ying, Tammy (FASS), Natasha Lee Yun Zhen (FASS), Tan Wen Yi (FoS), Teo Wei Ling (FoS)

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari
Industry Advisor: Mr. Rico Chang (OHS, NUS)

Food waste is unsustainable and undesirable. Besides the meaningless squandering of natural resources, it causes significant and dire environmental impacts. Our team decided to continue a study done by Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) students in AY2015-16, which discovered that food caterers at NUS Residential College (RC) dining halls err on the side of caution and typically tend to over provide student meals to ensure that residents have sufficient food to eat with a wide variety of food choices. Our study found that this is further compounded by the caterer’s inability to correctly predict the number of students going for each meal, or the take-up rate for the different types of food. We found that these factors lead to a significant amount of cooked food being left unserved on a daily basis – often as much as 15%, as indicated by the caterer of the RC dining halls. RVRC will have its own dining hall in AY2017-18, and as future residents, our team focused on exploring a potential solution to reduce the amount of unserved cooked food, by allowing paying student diners to have ‘Self-served Seconds’ at each meal after the close of dining hours. In order to gauge operational challenges as well as student perception to our proposed solution, we pilot tested this idea during term time at the CAPT-RC4 Dining Hall. Our findings assess the success of this initiative by measuring the amount of servings wasted before and after the implementation of our pilot test. Our study also integrates this data with survey responses from student participants of the pilot test to give an overall measure of success of our idea and potential changes for future adoption at RVRC.

Keywords: Waste Management, Food waste, Catering, RC Dining, Catering Waste

AY1516G35 –“Is sustainable packaging at fast food restaurants in NUS achievable? A study of consumer response at Subway YIH”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Hui Han Xi (FASS/ARS1), Jacqueline Tjen (SDE/ARK1), Looi Jia Wen (FoS/SCI1), Toh Kai Yang (FoE/CVE1), Zhuang Lei (SoC/COM1)

Academic Advisor: N. Sivasothi | Student Fellow: Zhou Kai

Excessive food packaging practices generate large amounts of waste, with plastic packaging being detrimental to the environment and paper packaging not being entirely sustainable either. This project seeks to investigate the effectiveness of introducing alternatives and providing reminders to consumers towards achieving a reduction in food packaging usage. Lunch boxes were provided for a period of two weeks to a sample group of 20 students who were later surveyed for its usefulness. A Subway outlet in NUS was also contacted about putting up posters to raise awareness and dissuade customers from taking plastic bags. Results from introducing alternatives to consumers have been encouraging, while results from the engagement with Subway are pending. Should results be positive, the project could be implemented on a larger scale, and potentially help NUS take a step towards becoming a more sustainable community.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Packaging, Plastic waste

AY1516G31 – “A systems approach to reducing food waste in NUS dining halls: modeling the dining hall ecosystem of CAPT/RC4”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Jonathan William Ambrose (FoE/BIE1), Jorgin Tan Qi Wen (FoE/CVE1), Li Yi Min (FoS/SCI1), Loh Kieng Min (FASS/ARS1), Tan Yi Ting (FASS/ARS1)

Academic Advisor: Kah Wei | Student Fellow: Lim Boon Pin

The cost of food has been increasing annually and food wastage translates to higher costs for food suppliers and consumers. This project focuses on the causes of food wastage in dining halls, using the dining hall shared by the CAPT and RC4 in NUS as a case study. Qualitatively, the dining hall manager, caterers and students were interviewed to find out how the dining hall operates, the source of food wastage and difficulties in decreasing food wastage. Quantitatively, food wastage for dinner services were tabulated over a period of a week and compared to existing projections from the caterer. The results indicate that there are large fluctuations in take up rates for the various stalls and there is a difficulty in projecting the take up rates for each stall. Hence, a system to project the number of diners is key to alleviate this problem of food waste in dining halls.

Keywords: Waste Management, Responsible Consumption, food waste, RC dining hall, behaviour survey

AY1516G29 –“Can ordering rituals reduce rice wastage in NUS canteens? Consumer response at Techno Edge”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Food, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Chermaine Cham Sue Hwee (FASS/ARS1), Koh Shue Lian, Erinna (FASS/ARS1), Priscilla Her Wan Yi (SDE/PFM1), Tan Shan Leong (FoE/MPE1), Tay Zhi Cong Johnathan (FoS/SCI1)

Academic Advisor: N. Sivasothi | Student Fellow: Nicholas Tan

We commenced our project by wanting to alleviate the food waste problem in Singapore. Singaporeans waste the equivalent of two rice bowls of food every day in a world where 1 in 9 people suffer from hunger. As such, our group aims to find out if popularising ordering options and monetary incentive would help to reduce rice wastage in our NUS canteen. We conducted multiple surveys and ground research to gather qualitative and quantitative results. In Semester 1, we found out that monetary incentive would encourage people to order less rice. (We assumed that when people to order less rice, less rice wastage would be incurred.) This semester, we pasted posters to raise awareness about food waste and the discount for the less rice option. Our study revealed an 18% increase in people ordering less rice largely due to an increase in awareness, which shows the viability of our hypothesis.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Food waste, Campaigns, Incentives

AY1516G27 –“Bin It! Nurturing a plastic bottle recycling culture in Ridge View Residential College”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Deanna Lum Yun Ying (FoS/PMC1), Irvin Lim Wei Quan (SoC/COM1), Kimberley Amanda Kao (FASS/ARS1), Nyan Lin Cho (MDP/CEG1), Wee Xin Hao (FoS/PMC1)

Academic Advisor: N. Sivasothi | Student Fellow: Wong Ci Yi

Plastics are primarily produced from petrochemicals derived from oil and gas, and recycling plastics would help reduce the strain on Earth’s natural resources. Recycling can also be seen as a waste management strategy, reducing the strain on our landfills and prevents possible contamination of soils and water bodies. In 2014, the rate of recycling plastics in Singapore stands at 9%. Starting in RVRC, by increasing the number of recycling bins, we will make it more convenient for people to recycle by taking the bins to them and at the same time, start to cultivate the habit of recycling plastic bottles.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Recycling, Plastic Waste

AY1516G23 –“Can Bokashi composting alleiviate food waste from NUS dining halls?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Food, Waste Management

Claris Nghai Hoi Yan (FASS/ARS1), Lok Siying (FASS/ARS1), Tan Heng Thye Jenson (FoE/ENG1), Teo Wen Hao Dennis (FASS/ARS1), Zhuang Yufeng (MDP/CEG1)

Academic Advisor: Adekunle Adeyeye | Student Fellow: Sin Kah Fai

Food waste makes up the second largest proportion of waste generated, at 22.5%, of which less than 15% is being recycled (NEA, 2015). Moreover, the amount of food waste generated has increased significantly over the past decade (NEA, 2015), and will continue to increase with greater wealth and an increasing population. As such, this project serves to look at ways to tackle food waste, in particular, food waste generated in the dining halls of the Residential Colleges in University Town. Food there is prepared beforehand and cooked in excess to cope with the possibility of a greater than usual demand. Food waste is thus a common sight, contributing to the waste generated in Singapore. This project explores the feasibility of bokashi composting and the use of a mobile application to both educate students about waste management and to help alleviate food waste in a sustainable manner.

Keywords: Waste Management, Mobile Application, Food Waste, Education, Composting

AY1516G20 –““Karang Guni”, a mobile app catalyst to promote technology reuse and recycling”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Cheang Jo Rick (FASS/ARS1), Koh Rui Lin (FoS/SCI1), Soh Jun Xiong (FoE/MPE1), Tay Ming Liang (MDP/CEG1), Xu Sihan (FoE/CHE1)

Academic Advisor: Adekunle Adeyeye | Student Fellow: Huang Jianyi

Singaporeans are huge consumers of technology where majority of the people desire and own the latest gadgets. Hence, devices quickly become obsolete and more e waste will be generated. The objective is to prolong the lifespan of these electronic gadgets as opposed to recycling them. A survey was conducted within Ridge View Residential College and the results indicate the lack of awareness and available channels to reuse their electronic devices. There is a common consensus to resell their items if a third party can help facilitate the process. Our solution: a mobile app. “Karang Guni” provides a convenient way to bridge sellers, 2nd hand dealers and recyclers together. All the sellers need to do is to enter their contact details and condition of their gadget. This quick and simple method enables potential pickup services to collect the items from them. Hence, we hope to increase the initiatives for reusing and recycling.

 Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Electronic waste, Mobile applications

AY1516G19 –“Reducing event food waste in NUS – Introducing the Foodjio Mobile Application”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Food, Waste Management

Adelia Grace Wee Yushan (FoS/SCI1), Kelvin Koor Kai Jie (FoE/MPE1), Kwok Jun Kiat (SoC/COM1), Leong Jia En, Tracy (FASS/ARS1), Yu Gao Fei (FASS/ARS1)

Academic Advisor: N. Sivasothi | Student Fellow: Zhou Kai

Food wastage is a serious problem in society that needs to be solved as it negatively affects society economically, environmentally and socially. Our project focuses on reducing food wastage through food catering events in Singapore. From our research, in NUS alone, 70% of catered food are being wasted on a regular basis and it is contributing greatly to the problem of food wastage. Foodjio is a mobile application that we have developed to help alleviate this problem. It works by collaborating with the organizer of food catering events to notify nearby users to travel down to help finish the catered food so as to reduce the occurrence of its wastage. Thus far, we have successfully developed the mobile application and it is undergoing testing on NUS users while undergoing a collaboration with ZeroWaste Singapore to plan to bring this application forward to the society at large in the future after successfully testing its practicality and usefulness.

Keywords: Waste Management, Food waste, Events, Mobile Application, Food Catering

AY1516G18 – “Clothes and the NUS undergrad: will awareness promote reductions and recycling?”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Emeline Ines Loke Si Lin (FASS/ARS1), Goh Chung Sern (FoE/EEE2), Goh Jia Yi, Shermaine (FoS/SCI1), Joelyn Lim Cheng Mui (FASS/ARS1), Praveer Tewari (SoC/COM1)

Academic Advisor: N. Sivasothi | Student Fellow: Zhou Kai

Clothing wastage is a rising issue in Singapore. This is due to the fast changing fashion trends and low prices of clothes, which makes them easily obtainable. With more clothes being purchased, it leads to a domino effect of more being disposed. According to Technical Textile Markets, the rise in production in the fashion industry, has nearly doubled the demand for man-made fibers, especially polyester, in the last 15 years (citation). To add on, the recycling rate of textiles is very low at 11% (citation). Often, people are oblivious to such wastage.  Thus, we have decided to step in to increase the awareness of such wastage, in hope to reduce them. Our target audiences are the undergraduates and fresh graduates of National University of Singapore (NUS). To solve this problem, we came out with a two-pronged approach. The first being promoting the reduction of buying new clothes. The second would be to encourage the students to recycle the old clothes.  The success of our project would be evaluated based on increasing the number of recycled clothes.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management. Fast Fashion

AY1516G12 –“Food Bank Singapore – an examination of the efficiency, effectiveness and bottlenecks of a food distribution system”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Food, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Cai Wendi (FoS/SCI1), Daryl Poh Yang Qi (FoE/CHE1), Don Jeremiah Hanford Pereira (FASS/ARS1), Fong Yu Shi (FoE/MPE1), Ng Hiang Teck (SDE/ARK1)

Academic Advisor: Sadaf Ansari | Student Fellow: Sean Poon

In 2011, Singapore had 0.68 million tonnes of food waste, and only 10% was recycled. To put this into perspective, this means on average, each person in Singapore produced roughly 130kg of food waste in a year. In addition, the recycling rate for food waste has dropped from 16% in 2010 to 10% in 2011. We have over 90% of food waste still discarded. Initially we proposed a food redirection strategy that would collect potentially wasted food before being thrown away, and redirect it into different channels. Unfortunately, the pilot did not take off as we encountered numerous issues. Thus, we decided to investigate already existing food re-distribution channels provided by Food Bank Singapore and Food From The Heart to collect qualitative data on these existing system’s efficiency and effectiveness as well as evaluate its bottlenecks.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Food Waste, Food Distribution

AY1516G11 – “The undergraduate closet: clothes swapping a resource of unused clothes to promote sustainability”

rvrnjy Abstracts, AY 2015/16, Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management

Ho Rui Hern Jonathan (FoS/SCI1), Ho Shu Xuan (FASS/ARS1), Lee Wan Yong (FASS/ARS1), Pang Hao Cher (SDE/ARK1), Tan Jin Da (FoS/SCI1)

Academic Advisor: Sadaf Ansari | Student Fellow: Sean Poon

From our research, there were around 158,600 tonnes of textile waste generated in Singapore in 2014, of which only 11% are recycled. Our project investigates the recycling habits of RVRC students and actions on their unwanted clothes. Our pre-drive survey has obtained 50 student responses and showed that there are about 20-40% of students who wear less than 40% of their clothings. Also, 92% and 45% of respondents respectively are willing to donate and exchange unwanted clothes. Through this project, we focus on raising awareness of the importance of recycling unwanted clothes in RVRC. We conducted a clothes swapping drive on 18 February 2016 and 30-40 people turned up for the event. From the survey, we learnt that there is awareness present on reusing or recycling of clothes. However, we found that this does not necessarily translate to action. This may be due to the lack of incentives present.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Waste Management, Reusing, Clothing waste, recycling

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