TIOMAN ISLAND HOUSEHOLD FOOD WASTE SURVEY REPORT

TIOMAN ISLAND HOUSEHOLD FOOD WASTE SURVEY REPORT

Executive Summary This survey aims to measure the average amount of food waste produced by each household in Pulau Tioman and to identify the level of knowledge about composting by residents of Tioman Island. This survey was carried out for three days starting from the 26 th to 28 th April 2016. The areas surveyed were Kampung Tekek, Berjaya Resort staff quarters, Kampung Air Batang, and Kampung Juara. Based on the survey, 149 households produce a total of 151.6 kg of food waste. On average, only 0.24 kg of food waste is produced by each household. Of all the residents interviewed, less than 50% of them know about composting. However, more than 60% are willing to learn about it in the future. Introduction The Cintai Tioman Program is an integrated approach to assist in increasing the ecological and social resilience of the Island of Tioman. From activities on coral reef rehabilitation to community-based engagements, Cintai Tioman aims to help reduce the impact of human activities on coral reefs around Tioman Island, and also empower the local communities to get involved in the management and conservation of the island s resources. One of the key elements of looking at ecological resilience is the management of waste on the island. While solid waste management is a separate effort within the Cintai Tioman program, food waste was deemed to be also an important indicator of the health of the marine environment as well as the resilience of the community towards the impact of island-based practices. Although composting awareness and efforts have been conducted on the island, the pick-up rate by the locals were low and on the contrary, a few local small resorts were more interested in the food waste composting effort compared to the locals. However we did not have any information as to WHY the locals were not that keen in practicing it although they have expressed interest, while the smaller resorts were expressing their interest. Thus, it was pertinent for the project to document the average household disposal of food waste, as a follow up to the baseline study conducted in November 2014, and to conduct another round of inquiry with the locals to understand this discrepancy. The Cintai Tioman Campaign is initiated by Reef Check Malaysia and EcoKnights, with the support of The GEF Small Grants Programme(GEF SGP), implemented by UNDP, Yayasan Sime Darby and HSBC Amanah Takaful. Objectives: This survey aims to estimate the weight of average food waste produced by Tioman Island residents in their own household. The specific objectives of this survey are: To measure the amount of food waste produced each household in Tioman. To identify the level of knowledge about composting and To recommend future efforts for curbing food waste disposal and island resilience Methodology. The survey was conducted within days. Areas that have been chosen for this survey are the Berjaya staff quarters, Kampung Tekek, Kampung Air Batang, and Kampung Juara. These areas were selected

because of its accessibility by land and have the highest population on the island. During our survey, we used bicycles, pickup trucks and motorcycles to help us move from one place to another. These modes of transportation helped us complete our tasks faster. Our methods of reaching the residents were through a direct and polite approach. Our methods were: To approach the targeted house by giving salutations. If the person is not available, we will move on to the next house. To introduce ourselves and the purpose of the survey. We gave options for them to choose either to participate or not in this research. To ask them to bring their rubbish out. The rubbish must contain organic materials only. Later, the weight of it was measured using a portable scale. Other questions were later posed, such as the number of people living in the house, their knowledge of composting, and their interest to learn more about composting if given the chance. Results 1) Berjaya Resort. No About Total 1 Total Houses Surveyed 4 Houses 2 Total Person in the Houses 110 People Total weight of the food waste collected/thrown 26.12kg 4 Average Person per houses.24 person per houses 5 Average food waste per houses 0.77kg 6 Average waste produced per person 0.24kg 7 Percentage of people know about composting 14.71% = Yes (5) 85.29% = No (29) 8 Percentage of people interested to know more about composting 50.00% = Yes (17) 2.5% = No (8) 26.47% = Maybe (9) 2) Kampung Tekek. No About Total 1 Total Houses Surveyed 84 Houses 2 Total Person in the Houses 75 People Total weight of the food waste 89.85kg 4 Average Person per houses 4.46 person per houses

5 Average food waste per houses 1.07kg 6 Average waste produced per person 0.24kg 7 Percentage of people know about composting 5.57% = Yes (45) 46.4% = No (9) 8 Percentage of people interested to know more about composting 67.86% = Yes (57) 10.71% = No (9) 21.4% = Maybe (18) ) Kampung Air Batang No About Total 1 Total Houses Surveyed 6 Houses 2 Total Person in the Houses 24 People Total weight of the food waste 6.09kg 4 Average Person per houses 4 person per houses 5 Average food waste per houses 1.01kg 6 Average waste produced per person 0.25kg 7 Percentage of people know about composting 100.00% = Yes (6) 0.00% = No (0) 8 Percentage of people interested to know more about composting 100.00% = Yes (6) 0.00% = No (0) 0.00% = Maybe (0) 4) Kampung Juara No About Total 1 Total Houses Surveyed 25 Houses 2 Total Person in the Houses 12 People Total weight of the food waste 29.kg 4 Average Person per houses 4.92 person per houses 5 Average food waste per houses 1.17kg 6 Average waste produced per person 0.24kg 7 Percentage of people know about composting 16% = Yes (4) 84% = No (21)

8 Percentage of people interested to know more about composting 56% = Yes (14) 20% = No (5) 24% = Maybe (6) 5) Total Surveyed area. No About Total 1 Total Houses Surveyed 149 Houses 2 Total Person in the Houses 62 People Total weight of the food waste 151.6kg 4 Average Person per houses 4.24 person per houses 5 Average food waste per houses 1.02kg 6 Average waste produced per person 0.24kg 7 Percentage of people know about composting 40.27% = Yes (60) 59.7% = No (89) 8 Percentage of people interested to know more about composting 6.09% = Yes (94) 15.44% = No (2) 21.48% = Maybe (2)

Percentage of people know about composting (%) Average weight produced (kg) Discussion 1) Comparison on average food waste per capita in Tioman Island with national minimum average waste production. 0.6 Total waste produced per capita (kg) 0.5 0.4 0. 0.2 0.1 0 National (Control) Berjaya Quarters Kampung Tekek Kampung Air Batang Kampung Juara Area of study Total waste produced per capita (kg) 2) Comparison of people who know about composting between the areas of study. Percentage of people know about composting per area. 100 80 60 40 20 0 Berjaya Quarters Kampung Tekek Kampung Air Batang Kampung Juara Area of study YES NO

Percentage of people interested to know more about composting (%) ) Percentage of people interested to know more about composting based on the area of study. 100 80 60 40 20 0 Berjaya Quarters Kampung Tekek Kampung Air Batang Kampung Juara Area of study YES NO MAYBE 4) Percentage of people who know about composting around the island. 40.27% 59.7% YES NO

5) Percentage of response for the possibility of composting. 21.48% 15.44% 6.09% YES NO MAYBE

Factors that Influence the Findings 1. Social Behavior. After 4 days of surveying, we have identified a few factors that influence our finding. These variables have affected the number of waste produced by the local residents. During the team s visit to Berjaya Resort staff quarters, the team found out that most of the residents were living alone. This contributed to the low waste production because they tend to have their meals outside rather than cook by themselves. Other than that, some of the staffs who have families produce more food waste. We also identified that they tend to dispose their rubbish inclusive of food waste every morning. At Kampung Tekek, we have found a few variables that affect the number of waste produced. Kampung Tekek is considered as the main village of the island, thus they have many businesses owned by locals. Some of the business they own is based on food such as restaurants and food stalls. This results in their family members to have meals at their restaurant because food is prepared there. This also shows that during the day, residents of Tioman Island are seldom available at home. At Air Batang, we found out that most of the residents are chalet operators. During the survey, we were only able to find six houses. One of the important information we obtained from the survey is that people tend to give out their food to wildlife such as monkeys and lizards. That explained the team s encounter with many lizards around the village. During the survey, the team found that the villagers know about composting. Lastly was a visit to Kampung Juara, a village on the east of the island. While the team was traveling around the village, it was found that most of the villagers like farming around their house. The residents also own chalets and restaurants for tourism. Many tourists were present at the area. Overall, we received very positive feedback during the survey. We found that the people are really interested to know more about composting. They also believe that the presence of an incinerator on the island only provides a short term solution due to the smoke it produces. They are also looking for better solutions such as composting. 2. Facilities. A few facilities dealing with waste disposal are provided on the island. One of the facilities is the incinerator center located north of Kampung Tekek. This incinerator functions as a center for waste combustion around the island. The incinerator burns almost all of the island waste, turning them into ash, fuel gas, and heat. According to the local residents, the incinerator is the cheapest way to

eliminate the waste. However, the by-product it produces is not environment friendly, resulting in bad views about tourism on the island. There were also complaints regarding the incinerator made by residents who live in the teachers quarters. As they live next to the incinerator, they receive fumes created by the incinerator. The local authority, the Tioman Development Authority (TDA) has provided a big green garbage bin for each residential area on the island. The presences of these bins have encouraged the residents to throw their rubbish almost every day. All the rubbish will then be sent to the incinerator by pickup trucks. Some areas such as Kampung Air Batang and Kampung Juara require a speed boat to transfer all the garbage from their area to the incinerator.. Local resident awareness Surprisingly, the residents knowledge about composting is higher than we expected. About 40% of the total surveyed residents know about the process of composting. This reaffirms the findings from the baseline survey which also indicated that a lot of the locals do know about composting. However, knowledge about composting is good; the actual practical application of their knowledge is still not there. According to the locals, one of the ways they learned about composting is through an initiative made by a non-governmental organization (NGO) conducting a composting workshop on the island. We also identified a few EcoKnights compost bins in some of the houses. However, some of the residents decided to stop composting because the presence of wild animals such as monkey and monitor lizards on the island scavenge the compost bins. They also mentioned that they prefer to feed the animals than make the compost. Other than composting, another initiative was made by Reef Check where they educate the Tioman residents to separate their waste. For example, they provided an iron cage for the locals to throw their recyclable materials such as aluminum cans and glass. After the cage is full, the items will be collected and sent to the mainland to be recycled. Conclusion, Recommendations and Ways to Move Forward Five days in Tioman have helped us find a lot of information for this survey. We were able to identify the amount of food waste produced. However, the average waste produced on this island; at 0.24kg, is lower than national minimum average; at 0.5 kg. Various reasons that contribute to the differences are due to their habits of disposing their rubbish every day and preference to have their food at nearby restaurants or cafés. These are the most common reasons we received during our survey. We also identified that the waste system is very efficient because TDA have provided the garbage bins nearby the housing areas. Plus, the garbage collector regularly collects the garbage.

The residents of Tioman Island have good understanding about composting. The presence of various compost facilities show that there were efforts made by other organizations on the island. Based on the survey, 40% of all surveyed residents know about composting. The presence of foreign tourists on the island might contribute these factors. Of all the residents, 6% are interested to learn about composting. Other than that, they believe that time, especially work hinders them from participating in composting workshops. However, they also believe that composting is one way to solve waste problems on that island. It is highly recommended that the food and beverage industries should focus more on composting efforts on the island. One of the justifications on why there needs to be a focus on this area is because most of the population on the island prefer to go to restaurants or cafés. Plus, restaurants also produce lots of food waste, either from their leftovers from cooking or unfinished food by customers. The said sector is also perfect for this initiative because composting requires time especially to wait until the compost bins get full. Restaurants would not have that problem as they constantly produce waste. Based on the survey, we saw the determination of Tioman residents to turn their island into something better. The presence of incinerators on the island does solve one problem but creates another. One of the locals added that a foreign tourist stated that the presence of the incinerator only gives a bad perception of tourism on the island. Thus, residents who work in the tourism industry believe that the incinerator only causes fewer tourists to visit the island. Tourism is one of the most important industries on the island. So, providing another option may help them improve the environment there. For purposes of financial report, the following is a summary of the financial expenditure of this survey. Expenditure The total expenditure of this survey was budgeted at RM 49.46. However, we managed to use the budget wisely with a total of RM 2706.52. Below is the list of expenditure according to the dates. Date No Item Quantity Total 17/4/2016 1 Portable Weight Scale 2 4.46 19/4/2016 1 Bus Ticket (Departing from TBS) 107.10 2 Bus Ticket (Returning from Johor) 2 69. Bus Ticket (Returning from Johor) 1 7.47 24/4/2016 1 EP Paper & Stationary (Stationary) - 17.90

2 Guardian (Medicine and Battery) - 16.56 25/4/2016 1 2 4 5 6 Speed Ferry (Departing from Mersing) Petron RON95 (Fuel) Conservation Charge (Marine Parks of Malaysia) Conservation Fee (Johor National Parks) Coral Reef Resort (Accommodation for 5 days) Wen Soon Grocery (Stationary) - - - 105.00 50.00 15.00 15.00 840.00 12.10 28/4/2016 1 2 Island Taxi (From Tekek to Juara) Go and Return Bike Rental (From 26/4 to 28/4) Motorcycle Rental (28/4) 120.00 120.00 160.00 29/4/2016 1 2 Speed Ferry (Departing from Tioman Island) Vision Commerce (Souvenir) Petron RON95 (Fuel) - - 105.00 72.60 50.00-1 EcoKnights intern s Allowance 750.00 GRAND TOTAL 2706.52