KUANTAN, April 6 (Bernama) -- The Pahang Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) took the initiative to place a food waste composting machine at Kuantan City Council (MBK) 1 field, here throughout Ramadan in an effort to make the city sustainable.

Its director Sharudin Hamid said it was to reduce the disposal of food waste directly into the bin and as of yesterday, as much as 70 kilogrammes (kg) of waste had been collected.

He said the corporation is targeting 300 kg to 400 kg of food waste to be collected with more than 100 kg of organic fertiliser expected to be produced which would be handed over to the community garden at Projek Perumahan Rakyat Disewa (PPRS) Pinggiran Putra here.

“Bazaar traders and people who break their fast in the field are advised to throw away their leftover food in the available bin before it would be processed into fertiliser using the machine.

"The machine can process 25 kg of food waste at one time which will be mixed with enzymes and wood dust to help the decomposition process before fertiliser can be produced. The whole process takes about 48 hours,” he told reporters today.

Meanwhile, Sharudin said as of Tuesday, almost 90 kg of surplus food from Ramadan bazaars had been recovered and would be distributed to the needy.

-- BERNAMA