International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change. www.ijicc.

net
Volume 9, Issue 11, 2019

Economical Smart Composting

Machines to Manage Food Waste,
Alleviate Environmental Degradation
and Combat Climate Change on
Penang Hill
Karthigayan Gunasegarana, Che Zalina Zulkiflib*, Sarah Tan Xinhuic,
Nur Hazlina Abu Hassand, Amiruddine, Bunyamin M Yapidf, Suci Ayu
Kurniah Putrig, Burhanuddinh, Nani Harlinda Nurdinii, a,b,c,dDepartment
of Computing, Faculty of Art, Computing and Creative Industry, Universiti
Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia, eUniversitas Azzahra, Jakarta, Indonesia,
f
STAI DDI Sidenreng Rappang, Indonesia, gDepartment of Ners Faculty
Universitas Indonesia Timur Makassar, Indonesia, hDepartment of Economics
Development and Society Empowerment Faculty of Political Government
Institut Pemerintahan Dalam Negeri Sulawesi Selatan Indonesia, iUniversitas
Indonesia Timur Makassar, Indonesia, Email:
a b
[email protected], [email protected],
c d
[email protected], [email protected],
e
[email protected], [email protected]
g
[email protected],
h
[email protected]
i
[email protected]

Penang Island, or Pulau Pinang, is one of the most urbanized and

densely populated regions in Malaysia. It is undergoing rapid
environmental degradation. Simultaneously, a significant culprit for
soaring rates of deforestation and severe climate change is inefficient
and unsustainable food waste management. Literature reviews have
analysed the efficacy of various composting systems that divert food
waste to be repurposed and transformed into a value-added soil
enhancement. They reveal the superiority of an in-vessel Economic
Smart Food Waste Composter. The ESFWC employs a plastic drum to
turn compost materials, an automated programming system, and
microbial solutions to accelerate the aerobic digestion of organic
waste. The ESFWC requires minimal time, cost, labour and GHGs
emissions. For this study interviews and questionnaires were

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conducted with stakeholders on Penang Hill, or Bukit Bendera. It

displays a need for an ESFWC, to reduce the detrimental
environmental effects of food waste and also deliver health, economic,
social, and environmental benefits for inhabitants of Penang Hill as
well as other communities across the globe.

Key words: Economical mechanized composting, Sustainability, Environment,

Climate change, Food waste management.

Introduction

Waste in Malaysia increased 1,900 tons per day from 2005 to 2009 when it reached 21,000
tons per day. It is expected to continue to rise to 31,000 tons per day by 2020. Ineffective
waste management can result in the destruction of valuable resources, increased land costs,
and long-term health and environmental problems. As of 2015, only 5.5% of municipal solid
waste (MSW) is recycled, 1% is composted, and the remaining 94.5% of MSW is disposed of
in landfill.

Food waste in particular impacts the environment, economy, and societal health
detrimentally, and continues to be a source of grave environmental concern as the global
population and its demand for food soars unrelentingly. Food waste is defined by Thi,
Kumar, and Lin as “food losses occurring at the end of the food chain (retail and final
consumption), which relates to retailers’ and consumers’ behaviour” (2015, 220). This can
include any “animal and vegetable waste … from making, storing, selling, preparing,
cooking, and serving food” (Priyambada and Wardana 2018, 158). Data reveals that
“developed” countries with higher living standards generate more food waste than
“developing” nations, which could speak to desires for higher quality and aesthetics of food
products. However, “developing” countries, labelled as having lower living standards, often
face greater challenges in managing food waste because of lack of resources and government
intervention in environmental issues (Thi, Kumar, and Lin 2015). But social and economic
advancement does not have to coincide with environmental degradation; employing
sustainable policies and practices can mitigate the effects of food waste while still allowing
living standards and development to prosper. Making up a staggering 50% of MSW in
Malaysia, diverting food waste to compost can reduce up to half the amount of solid waste in
the landfill (Kamyab et al. 2015; Ohimain & Izah 2015).

Composting is “a natural aerobic biochemical process in which thermophilic microorganisms

transform organic materials into a stable, soil-like product” (Schaub and Leonard 1996, 263).
Biological decomposition of organic waste has potential to “alleviate the pressure on urban
waste management as well as to generate biogas for power generation” (127). Composting
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hereby solves problems of environmental damage and land scarcity resultant of outrageous
amounts of MSW dumped at landfills that are reaching their maximum capacity (Leung and
Wang 2016). In addition, composting can eliminate up to 40% of the volume of organic by-
products and create a profitable product (Schaub and Leonard 1996). This final product can
also be used to improve soil texture and fertility, thereby terminating the use of synthetic
fertilizers in the soil, and increase its carbon storage capacity, further reducing GHG
emissions (Mu et al. 2017).

A traditional home composter bin for residential purposes has high risks of poor mixing and
aeration because of the requirement of intense manual labour (Lundie and Peters 2005). For
this reason, a comparison of the above two industrial composting methods was made to
assess a suitable composting method to apply to Penang Hill. According to Waqas et al., a
chosen composting method depends on the available manpower, amount and nature of the
organic waste, and environmental and economic conditions (2018). In this case, the in-vessel
composting system has revealed superiority to windrow systems by its shorter process
duration, control of food waste-borne pathogens, and quality of final product for soil
amendment (Pandey et al. 2016). However, a conventional industrial in-vessel composter still
requires extensive initial investment and resources, and is typically used for much larger
amounts of waste material.

Designed and created by members of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris’s (UPSI) Computing
Department, the Economical Smart Food Waste Composter applies some of the concepts of
mechanized in-vessel composting at a smaller, more manageable scale to create a machine
that can efficiently and effectively convert food waste into high-quality compost.

Figure 1. Image of ESFWC Model S1

The EFWC consists of a large plastic drum equipped with a mixer and fan for ventilation and
aeration. The EFWC is a semi-automatic machine designed to facilitate and accelerate the
composting process of food and plant waste into reusable biological material. Additionally,
the machine minimizes energy needs in comparison to industrial composting methods, giving

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it an even lower ecological footprint. Without utilizing any incineration processes, the EFWC
reduces carbon emissions which are characteristic of many industrial composters.

The EFWC appears to be a highly effective composting technology that is most suitable for
installment on Penang Hill, to significantly reduce food waste disposal to the landfill, waste
collection and management costs, and their urgent environmental consequences.

Methodology

Figure 2. Overview of Study Methodology Flowchart

A. Systematic review
Existing waste management methods

As described in Fig. 2, this study first involved a systematic review of existing waste
management methods, and awareness of critical environmental concerns in Penang. The
Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill in Nibong Tebal, Penang has a total area of 62.4 hectares, 33
hectares of which are currently operational and receive roughly 1,800 tons of municipal and
non-hazardous industrial solid waste daily. An average of 600 tons of MSW is sourced from
Penang Island, with the difference coming from the mainland (Kamaruddin et al., 2016).
Projected to last until 2018 before requiring an additional 28-hectare expansion to prolong its
lifespan for another decade, a new solution must be found to manage MSW. Of the total
MSW collected in Penang, 40-60% is food waste which can be redirected from the landfill to
extend its life. Organic waste is also considered the biggest pollutant in landfills since it not
only generates methane gas, a major GHG, but it also releases leachate (Khor 2015). A liquid
that “passes through the waste refuse and water generated within the landfill site” (3);

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leachate contains many different pollutants that are toxic when untreated (Kamaruddin et al.,
2016).

Waste source and composting site

A focus for the study was sought, a specific area that could be more easily isolated and
measured. Penang Hill was proposed and assessed as a potential location, to conduct a pilot
test of a mechanized composter’s contribution to alleviating food waste. A site of both a
biodiverse ecosystem flooded with native flora and fauna, and a bustling tourism and
industrial development, Penang Hill, or Bukit Bendera, has undergone rapid change in recent
years. The highest and most famous peak on the island at 833 meters tall, Penang Hill’s
natural water catchments that provide a water supply and prevent soil erosion and landslides
are at risk from increasing human activities and development. And despite mitigation works
in the past three years to improve the widespread deforestation for housing and infrastructure
development, Penang Hill’s condition has not seen significant improvement (Connolly 2019).
It therefore serves as an optimal location for introducing composting, as an alternative waste
management practice, to protect and restore the natural beauty of this landmark. The ability to
localize the process from source to end-product further reduces environmental and economic
costs. Managing food waste by treating it at the source is an enhanced sustainable approach
by minimizing collection and transportation costs (Kamyab et al. 2015).

B. Approval

Approval was obtained from participating parties, such as the PHC and THF, to conduct an
initial assessment of waste collection and management on Penang Hill. It was hoped that the
ESFWC machine could be implemented subsequently, to manage food waste generated by
constituents of the Cliff Cafe.

C. Preliminary community engagement assessment

Surveys and interviews were conducted with members of David Brown’s Restaurant, the
Bellevue Hotel, The Habitat Penang Hill (THPH), PHC, and MBPP as stakeholders of
Penang Hill. That determined actionable steps taken to reduce food waste and practice
sustainable efforts, if any, and the prospect of implementing the ESFWC. Subsequently, a
questionnaire was administered to management of the Astaka Bukit Bendera, to assess their
awareness of composting and waste management, as well as their willingness to participate in
this pilot test of mechanized composting in this location on Penang Hill. Based on the
feedback from these questionnaires and surveys, specific guidelines will instruct participants
in the pilot test composting process. A monitoring schedule will require a member of THF to
supervise the ESFWC machine and its progress, in decomposing waste during the pilot test.
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And if overwhelming responses of unwillingness to separate food waste and cooperate in the
study are received, an incentive system will be designed to encourage store-owners. The
details for the pilot test are described below in Fig. 3.

D. Data collection, analysis, and future directions

Following the conclusion of the pilot test, there will be a data comparison. The data obtained
on the efficacy of the ESFWC machine, to reduce food waste disposal and generate usable
compost materials for soil treatment locally on Penang Hill, will be compared to data
collected from previous implementations of the ESFWC at SMK Jalan Damai and in the
Taman Pandan community. Analysis of these measurements will enable the determination of
the promise of the ESFWC. That promise is to meet needs, to reduce the environmental
effects of existing waste management methods such as landfill disposal or incineration, as
well as the efficacy and superiority of mechanized composting over other composting
methods. These conclusions may provide pivotal insights and invite future studies to continue
research and technological development to progress Penang and greater Malaysia towards
adopting sustainable practices as conventional.
E. Penang Hill pilot test

Figure 3. EFWC Implementation on Penang Hill Pilot Study Methodology Flowchart

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Prepare participants and food waste

Store-owners within the food court on Penang Hill will be educated on the imperative of
improved food waste management and waste material separation procedures, based on the
results from the preliminary questionnaire. Once a waste collection system is in place, food
waste will begin to be diverted to the ESFWC machine as the main input substances of the
composting process.

ESFWC process

An updated custom ESFWC Model S3 with a larger capacity of 50kg of input material, an
industrial plastic drum, and enhanced specifications will be installed on Penang Hill. The
automatically programmed composting process proceeds for 3 to 5 days, during which the
machine turns and aerates the waste materials to expedite decomposition. Further facilitating
organic waste decomposition, microbes are added to the waste materials for aerobic digestion
to proceed. However, this ESFWC model still requires some human intervention, in manual

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input of raw materials and monitoring once per day of the composition of the output compost,
to ensure an optimal final product for soil enhancement.

Achieving optimal compost and applications

Although the ESFWC aids in generating productive compost yields, the composition of the
waste input still greatly affects the quality of the output (Azim et al. 2017). High-quality
compost requires proper control and management, including removing non-organic
components in the food waste that result in impurities in the final compost product as well as
maintaining a certain pH, carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N), moisture content, aeration rate,
particle size, and porosity (Cerda et al. 2018). The most important factor in composting being
maintenance of an oxygen supply, consistent and adequate aeration is key to efficient
microbial activity. Aeration is important for both promoting microbial growth and
minimizing gas emissions (Li et al. 2013). Aeration occurs naturally at higher temperatures
that ease warm air leaving and cooler air entering the compost, but it can also be facilitated
by turning the material to provide sufficient oxygen through reversing the air flow into the
compost pile (Priyambada and Wardana 2018).

To avoid strong odours and achieve optimal compost, a high carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) of
roughly 30:1 to 40:1 is sought. The ratio is generally most effective in providing microbes
with enough carbon for energy and nitrogen, for protein synthesis during the degradation of
organic waste. Additionally, consistent temperatures within 30-60 °C must be maintained and
monitored (Priyambada and Wardana 2018), and optimal decomposition by microbial activity
occurs at a moisture content of about 55% (Jouhara et al. 2017). Particle size and porosity are
also important and interdependent: reducing particle size increases the surface area available
for microbes to decompose, and creates sufficiently sized pores to permit air and water to
spread evenly throughout the compost, accelerating the aeration and overall composting
process (Priyambada and Wardana 2018).

Figure 4. Illustration of compost product consistencies

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Determining compost consistency during daily monitoring can inform both the progress of
the decomposition and the need to add supplements to the compost. Illustrated in Fig. 4, if the
substance feels wet to the touch and excretes strong odours and liquid when lightly squeezed,
dry absorbent materials such as dry leaves and trimmings must be added to the compost. On
the other hand, if the substance feels dry and crumbles easily in the hand, water is needed to
moisten the compost to be able to mould and stick together.

After compost consistency is optimized, roughly 90% of the substance will be removed from
the ESFWC to be stored for further maturation. It can be a natural soil fertilizer within The
Habitat Penang Hill’s nature walk, and in various other green spaces on Penang Hill.
Compost could also be supplied to the Penang Hill Middle Station farming community, to
support their food production. The 10% of compost remaining in the ESFWC will then be
used in the next cycle to stimulate decomposition of the new organic waste. From this, the
composting system can continue to convert food waste into soil fertilizer in a natural
recycling process.

Results
A. Penang Hill Corporation

The Penang Hill Corporation oversees all development on Penang Hill, to maintain and
evolve the hill to be a world-renowned eco-tourism site. With this role, the PHC strives to
improve and innovate Penang Hill to not only sustain visitors and residents, but to also
sustain the natural environment of the hill itself and its habitat for native flora and fauna. The
PHC has therefore noticed that as Penang Hill attracts more tourists over the years, it has
simultaneously invited more waste production: what used to be a few garbage bags per day of
waste that was burned has increased to one pick-up truck per day. Now, two full-sized lorries
must drive up and down the hill to collect and transport waste per day.

B. Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang

This is an admirable approach to managing and recycling food waste into compost. However,
it is not the most efficient, effective, or longstanding food waste management method. In
particular, the amounts of waste that will need to be handled in the present and in future years
will only increase. A critical part of optimizing the collection of food waste by MBPP would
also require accurate waste segregation at the source. This would enable food waste to be
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simply and quickly diverted for repurposing into compost and recyclable plastic, aluminium,
glass, and other materials to be directed to recycling centres rather than general waste
disposal sites.

C. Food waste generation on Penang Hill

The Bellevue Hotel separates and recycles their waste materials, which largely consist of
food waste and plastics. Kitchen food waste is either composted or fed to the animals that
reside at the hotel or at their estate in Balik Pulau. Another significant portion of waste
collected at the hotel is made up of dry leaves, which are reused in the soil of the hotel’s
garden spaces. Manually composting food waste at the Bellevue Hotel has also been met with
challenges as stray dogs and cats are attracted to general garbage waste, and the smell of
decomposing food waste. So despite well-intentioned attempts to recycle and compost food
waste, these open-air processes do not have the protection and monitoring required to
maintain them, forcing the Bellevue staff to avoid leaving compost piles to sit overnight.

David Brown’s Restaurant, on the other hand, has a well-established traditional composting
system. It consists of a few compost piles that utilize egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and
vegetable skins and scraps, grass, and leaves to produce fertilizer that is used on site. These
compost piles are likely safe from the animals that threaten the Bellevue Hotel, because
David Brown’s sits on an elevated tip of Penang Hill that is less accessible to roaming strays.
This has enabled the success of their composting system. But this manual process still
requires that the waste materials rest for at least six months, during which the compost is
manually turned once every two weeks to mature, and to produce usable soil fertilizer.

On the other hand, The Habitat Penang Hill employs other sustainable practices to manage
their waste, which consists almost entirely of dry leaves from the park. Coinciding with
THPH’s mission of promoting biodiversity and environmental conservation, every morning
the nature trail is blown. Leaves are collected and stored for approximately one month until
they are subsequently shredded, to accelerate their biological degradation, before being
spread onto the soil as a natural mulching layer. Additional waste produced by THPH
consists of coffee grounds, residual food waste, and recyclable materials at The Habitat’s
food and beverage cafe. The coffee grounds are often provided to the landscapers of THPH to
use with the dried leaves in the soil at the park.

Figure 5. Pie chart illustrating the major constituents of waste generated by the Astaka Bukit
Bendera

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Finally, the Astaka Bukit Bendera management has observed high amounts of food waste.
Penang Hill only continues to grow as a tourism hub, welcoming both local and foreign
visitors alike who consume food from these stalls and discard much food that is wasted. It
was also reported that the food complex produces up to twenty bin bags of waste per day,
comprising approximately 60% food waste, as described in Fig. 5 above. Additionally,
although there are recycling bins on the hill, most recyclable materials, especially plastics, are
combined in general waste disposal bins rather than separated.

Discussion

With the goal of encouraging more tourism, the caretakers of Penang Hill cannot control or
restrict food waste at the individual consumer level. Instead, waste must be monitored and
organized by management, to ensure participation in a structured waste collection and
composting system.

It is a positive sign that composting methods have already been employed at multiple
locations on the hill. However, sustainability in the long-term could also be impeded because
of an insufficient workforce and space, to manage the amounts of food waste collected on the
hill, given that the manual composting process can take up to a year to complete. The
shortcomings and problems encountered by the Bellevue Hotel, David Brown’s Restaurant,
and the pre-existing community composting site, reveal the need for a contained and
accelerated composting system to more quickly and effectively transform waste on Penang
Hill. This reveals the promise of a mechanized composter to consolidate the space, resources,
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and labour required to produce compost from food waste in a minimal amount of time, to
maximize the turn-over rate of the entire waste collection and composting process.

Furthermore, the rich stabilized organic matter in compost improves plant growth through
soil fertilization compost. Other benefits of compost for the soil are the compost’s water
holding capacity that can increase soil moisture content, and its ability to lower the soil pH,
partaking in making required nutrients available for plant uptake, and acting as a biopesticide
by inhibiting plant and soil diseases and pathogens (Waqas et al., 2018).

Conclusion

Food waste is a pressing worldwide concern that has often been regulated by various
composting systems as alternative waste management methods. Mechanized in-vessel
composting in the form of the Malaysian-invented and designed ESFWC machine has proven
to be a successful economical and sustainable composting system. It reduces costs, GHG
emissions, energy, resources, and labour, while still generating a value-added product that
further facilitates the environmentally sustainable growth of urban green spaces. For these
reasons and the success of past implementation of the ESFWC in significantly contributing to
reducing food waste and returning balanced organic content and moisture compost, the
ESFWC is proposed as a matchless addition to Penang Hill, which is open to such a solution,
to locally manage food waste and conserve the beauty, history, and natural environment of
this iconic Malaysian treasure.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Think City Sdn Bhd, The Habitat Foundation, and Universiti
Pendidikan Sultan Idris for initiating this study and supporting all research, by making their
resources and contacts available for use and assistance throughout this project. The author
would also like to recognize the Penang Hill Corporation, Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang,
David Brown’s Restaurant, Bellevue Hotel, and The Habitat Penang Hill for their cooperation
and participation in this study, and for openly responding to and supporting inquiries
regarding food waste on Penang Hill.
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AUTHORS’ PROFILES

KarthigayanGunasegaran is a Program Manager at Think City

SdnBhd and pursuing his Doctorate at Sultan Idris Education
University, Malaysia. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration
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Volume 9, Issue 11, 2019

from INTI University, Malaysia.Karthi has 10 years of extensive

experience in catalyzing social innovation and bottom up
transformation initiatives and projects. Karthi is an Alumni of The
Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), a US
government’s signature program to build leadership capabilities of
youth in the region and promote cross-border cooperation.

*Che ZalinaZulkifli is an Associate Professor in Computer Department,

Faculty of Arts, Computing and Creative Industry at Sultan Idris
Education University, Malaysia. She had over 18 years professional
teaching experience as a lecturer and active researcher in the Electronics
& Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, Embedded System,
Industry Creative & Networking area. Experience as a Test Engineer in
the multinational company. Her research projects have been collaborated with multinational
company which contributes to a network that lead to new ideas and concrete research project.
The developed automation projects that focused on Sensor Monitoring, Embedded System,
Software, IoT and Wireless Communication fields have been successfully adopted by the
industry to date. A total of more than a million Ringgit has been generated as an income to
the University mainly from the Research grant, Commercialization of research innovative
products and also the services as a principle consultant. Expertise in the agriculture sector
with new invention to improve the crop production adopted high technology. Sincerely
dedicated to the very wise in the green project about recycling and reusage of waste. She has
won several international awards and national award. She has developed confidence and
interest in researching and teaching areas to enhance Creative Innovation in Engineering,
Science & Technology.

Sarah Tan Xinhui is an undergraduate student at the University of

California, Los Angeles graduating in June 2020 with a Bachelor of
Science in Human Biology and Society and a Minor in Food Studies. Sarah
has participated in UCLA’s Undergraduate Research Week to conduct a
study on the efficacy of community gardens and education programs in
improving student food insecurity in LAUSD elementary schools. She has
also been awarded Dean’s Honors for her academic achievement at UCLA.

Nur Hazlina Abu Hassan is a Master student in Information Technology

Education (IT), Faculty of Arts, Computing and Creative Industry at Sultan
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Volume 9, Issue 11, 2019

Idris Education University, Malaysia. She is a Research Assistance to a lecturer as an author

at Sultan Idris Education University.

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