It is common practice to throw away our meals after we have cooked and eaten them and then wait for the garbage trucks to pick them up. But do you really know where it goes or what happens to it?
When the garbage trucks pick up our trash, they take it to the landfill, out of our sight and out of our minds. Although we cannot see or smell decomposing food waste, we are still affected by it.
Food waste that rots produces methane, which is one of the climate-changing gasses that causes the greenhouse effect. Humans produce food waste every day, and it takes time to decompose naturally. The rotten food waste smells and attracts scavengers and pests such as flies, cockroaches and rats, which are carriers of many deadly diseases.
Many people and firms have devised solutions to manage food waste. One of the solutions is Composter, a machine that turns food waste into organic compost, which is suitable for places with gardens and agricultural areas. For places with limited green spaces like cities, producing organic compost daily may not be practical.
Gastronomer Lifestyle had the opportunity to talk with the young Co-Founder of NOW End of Waste Co., Ltd., Porpong Shinawatra, at The Strand Thonglor Ultra Luxury Condominium to get to know about his company’s new solution to manage food waste in Bangkok.
“First of all, we are a food waste management company.” Porpong said, “We don’t sell machines that come in sizes, or one machine fits all. Based on the amount of food waste a premise produces per day, we determine the perfect way to manage food waste suitable for that premise.”
“Using microbes to digest and compost organic waste isn’t new.” He continued, “I believe some people in Thailand have heard about Composter, but a few have heard about Digester. If I’m not wrong, we are Thailand’s only company with this technology. How does it work? Like the Composter, the Digester is filled with microbes, but these microbes were designed to be more efficient. Food waste such as vegetables, meat, fish bones, and small chicken bones will be turned into grey water within 24 hours. Gray water will go to the city’s sewage and water treatment systems. However, if a premise wants to treat its grey water itself, we are more than happy to oblige.”
Porpong showed Gastronomer Lifestyle their NOW Digester machine at The Strand Thonglor so we could see how the machine works. The machine contains a powered blender and organisms mixed with crude enzymes and emulsifiers designed to digest and deodorise organic wastes.
Gastronomer Lifestyle asked if the machine at The Strand Thonglor is the only NOW Digester machine in Thailand. Porpong replied, “The Strand Thonglor isn’t our only client. Central Pattana Public Company Limited is our client. We have our machine installed at Central Westgate. The Food School, Thailand’s first international multi-brand culinary school, has our Digester.”
Additionally, NOW Digester isn’t the only technology of NOW End of Waste Co., Ltd. They also have NOW Composters for establishments that need it and In-Sink Grinder, the food waste disposer for individual units.
Porpong also told Gastronomer Lifestyle that the company was interested in working with hotels and the public sectors and has had meetings with some organisations that share the same vision. From what Propong told us, this is a good sign that the number of organisations in Thailand that care about the environment and support sustainability are growing.
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