France-based Veolia, with over 170 years of expertise in waste management, operates across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. It serves various industries, including pharmaceutical, energy, micro electronics, and food and beverage.
Its Tuas facility in Singapore offers a glimpse into the region’s evolving waste priorities.
Common wastes generated by food and nutraceutical sectors
Hazardous waste volumes in food and nutraceutical industries are relatively lower, as these sectors avoid high-risk substances, said Veolia’s Director for Business Development in South East Asia, Matt Stanelos.
That said, niche areas that require attention exist.
“For instance, alcohol producers often need secure product destruction when batches fail quality tests,” said Stanelos.
He added that hazardous waste in the food and nutraceutical industries typically comes from cleaning chemicals such as caustic and solvent washers.
Additionally, while most nutraceutical waste, such as from milk powder producers, is classified as general waste, occasional small batches may fall into the hazardous category and will need to be disposed of safely and properly.
Beyond secure disposal, Veolia offers “total waste management” services that include re-purposing by-products into feedstock and generating renewable energy.
Turning waste into feedstock and clean energy
The company has a black soldier fly bioconversion project in Malaysia that transforms brewery by-products and other organics into protein and compost, supporting a closed-loop system.
It also works with the F&B and dairy industries – particularly in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe – where food waste is often anaerobically digested to produce biomethane – a renewable biogas for commercial use.
This is part of their total waste management system that also involves generating electricity and heat for household and industrial uses.
Stanelos explains how this is done in Singapore’s Tuas facility.
What is anaerobic digestion?
Anaerobic digestion is a process where microorganisms break down organic waste – such as food scraps, fats, oils, and grease – in the absence of oxygen. This process produces biogas, which can be used to generate electricity and heat, and a nutrient-rich residue that can be used as fertilizer. It’s a key technology for reducing landfill waste and supporting the circular economy.
“We offer total waste management. This allows us to direct materials not only to this Tuas facility but also to another facility for energy recovery or digestion, depending on market capacity,” said Stanelos.
“For example, Singapore’s upcoming NEA food waste digestion facility, opening in 2027, will significantly increase renewable energy recovery, and we will play a role in channelling waste to that site.”
Waste at Veolia’s Tuas facility goes through high temperature incineration that safely destroys hazardous substances while generating energy.
The heat generated during waste incineration is recovered in the form of pressurised steam, which is converted into electrical energy for household use.
Veolia also turns biosolids, fats, oils, and grease into biogas that produces electricity and heat, helping to power households and facilities while cutting landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
These processes are tracked and traced at every stage.
Every waste stream is assigned a unique identification number and tracked individually – from its point of origin at the customer’s site to its arrival at Veolia, and ultimately to its safe destruction. For example, each waste load arriving on site is labelled with a barcode or QR code for precise tracking.
The Tuas site also reuses water and organic pollution by converting aqueous waste streams into a source of industrial water for internal use, reducing water consumption and the quantity of trade effluent discharged to the sewer.
This has a significant positive impact on preventing environmental pollution – one of the key challenges that South East Asia faces.
Singapore’s recovery metrics in 2024
11,500 MWh of electricity generated from Hazardous Waste incineration – corresponds to approximately 2,555 Singaporean homes powered for one year.
4,500 tons of CO2 avoided – equivalent to removing approximately 1,125 cars from the road for one year.
33,000,000 litres of water recycled within the Tuas facility – equivalent to approximately 13.2 Olympic-sized swimming pools
Source: Veolia
Challenges of waste management in Asia Pacific
While the F&B sector is relatively well-managed in terms of waste, Stanelos highlighted that industry gaps and challenges vary by geography.
“Large manufacturers may generate high volumes of a specific residual in one country, but demand for recycling that material might be in another region.”
Regulations also tend to be more fragmented in ASEAN compared to Oceania.
“In Thailand, the informal circular economy works well, while in Australia and New Zealand, it’s more formalised. ASEAN countries differ in regulatory consistency, with each having its own approach, while Australia and New Zealand apply more uniform standards. Multinationals often follow their own global benchmarks rather than local rules,” said Stanelos.
The gaps Stanlelos highlighted illustrate broader challenges in Asia’s food and nutraceutical waste sector, with companies needing to balance proper waste management alongside sustainability requirements.
Veolia pointed to the need for greater regional cooperation in ASEAN, through initiatives similar to Singapore’s involvement in the Basel Convention on hazardous waste.
