(NewsReady.com) – Waste management is something most countries struggle to grapple with these days. As Earth’s population expands, people create more waste. One business startup is creating a solution for the trashy problem.
In 2017, Chua Kai-Ning and her partner, Phua Jun Wei, founded Insectta to fight the food waste problem in Singapore. According to statistics, the food waste in the country increased from 558,000 tons to 810,000 tons from 2007 to 2017. In 2020, households spent $342 million on spoiled food. When the couple realized how bad the problem was, they had an idea: why not use black soldier fly larvae to fight back.
BSF turn 'trash into treasure' in Singapore 🪰 #BSF #sustainability #edibleinsects https://t.co/mhUK4AME19
— HEALTHYNSECT (@GREEiNSECT) August 30, 2021
The company feeds up to eight tons of waste per month to the black soldier fly maggots. Then, Insectta flash dries the insects, turning them into animal feed. Their excrement turns into fertilizer for farms. The company figured out a way to obtain biomaterials from the exoskeleton left behind by the bugs, which is a new technology that makes Insectta stand apart from the competition.
Chua discussed turning the maggots into feed and fertilizer during an interview with CNN Business. “During [research and development], we realized that a lot of precious biomaterials that already have market value can be extracted from these flies,” she said.
Not only is the company destroying waste, but it’s also helping the farming industry. Pretty impressive.
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