ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ON DAILY OPERATION OF SELECTED FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT IN NORTHERN REGION OF MALAYSIA

Abstract

Food waste is the second-highest source of solid waste in Malaysia. It accounts for about 32% of the total volume of waste generated in the country. Western food restaurants and Indian Muslim (also known as Mamak) restaurants in Northern Region, Malaysia are fast-growing food establishments and have become common among Malaysians of different races. Thus, this study aimed to identify the waste generation, carbon footprint and water footprint during the daily operation of these two types of food establishment. The waste from the food establishment was classified and measured into three categories: Preparation loss (PREP), serving loss (SERV) and customers’ plate loss (PLATE). The Material Flow Analysis (MFA) was used to exhibit the amounts of food waste generated and the factors that most significantly contributed to the amount of food waste during daily operations. The findings of this study presented that PLATE waste contributed to most of the food waste with 62.9% (Western) and 54.9% (Indian Muslim), compared to PREP losses generated which were 37.1% (Western) and 45.1% (Indian Muslim). The weekly average electricity consumption was 17.3 kWh (Western) and 267.8 kWh (Indian Muslim). Besides, the total weekly carbon footprint was 17.6 kgCO2e (Western) and 29.24 kgCO2e (Indian Muslim). Meanwhile, the total average water consumptions were 21.82 m3 (Western) and 38.2 m3 (Indian Muslim) and the total carbon footprint emission per week was 7.5 kgCO2e (Western) and 13.19 kgCO2e (Indian Muslim). The management of the food establishment may be able to recognise the areas for improvement in reducing food waste generation and carbon footprint from their daily operations.