Chula Develops Model of Sustainable Food Waste Management

Sustainability is possible everywhere, even in the food that we leave behind.  Doctoral students and faculty members from the Environmental Science Interdisciplinary Program, Chulalongkorn University Graduate School (CUGS), participated in the “Chula Sustainability Fest 2022” on September 2-4, 2022, at Chulalongkorn Centenary Park. Associate Professor Dr. Nuta Supakata, Deputy Program Director and lecturer of the Environmental Science Department, Faculty of Science, presented research findings from the “Nonthaburi Municipality or Nakhon Non Model of Sustainable Food Waste Management”.  During the event, Dr. Nuta displayed a digital poster presentation entitled “Safety, Occupational Health and Working Environment”.  

The Nakhon Non Model for Sustainable Food Waste Management is a project developed by PhD students of the Environmental Science Interdisciplinary Program, Chulalongkorn University Graduate School (CUGS), and faculty members of the Environmental Science Department.   It aims to solve the problems of food waste management of Nonthaburi Municipality, which is in need of appropriate and systematic waste segregation and management.   

Currently, landfills are being used, and this may continue for several years if no food waste management is introduced.  In search of a more efficient and sustainable waste solution, a collaboration between Chulalongkorn University, Nonthaburi Municipality and the Technology and Informatics Institute for Sustainability (TIIS) has formed to develop and build a model of sustainable food waste management for Nonthaburi Municipality in the future.  

The project is still in operation and is focused on helping Nonthaburi Municipality segregate food waste for further use in a way that is friendly to the environment. Having developed a model of sustainable food waste management, valuable takeaways expected by the project team members include measurements of economic value, collaboration of people and the community in certain study areas–such as in condominiums, the decrease of waste in landfills, and the innovative development and use of applications for food waste management.  Expectations are high for the project to be followed and become a prototype for other agencies and municipalities in Thailand.  

As the project can be linked to four of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it has received support from a research and innovation fund, Zero Waste project and garbage group, fiscal year 2022, from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).  The four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), and Climate Action (SDG 13).

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