Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)- FAQ on food waste collection and separation (for the reference of participating schools of the Pilot Programme)

How to separate the collected food waste？

Food waste can be separated into "Recyclable" food waste and "Non-recyclable" food waste as set out below :

"Recyclable" food waste :
Fruits : Fruit core, fruit peel
Vegetables : Leaves, roots, seeds, melon peel
Rice : All rice products, such as rice, rice noodles
Wheat : All wheat products, such as noodles, bread
Beans : All bean products, such as bean curd
Meat : All meat products, such as raw or cooked chicken, duck, pork, beef, lamb, fish
Residues : Tea leaves, Chinese medicine, coffee residues
Soft shell (small amount) : Shrimp shells, egg shells

"Non-recyclable" food waste :
Liquids : Soup and sauce
Bones : Bones of pig, cow, chicken, duck
Cutlery : Chopsticks, toothpicks, fork, spoon
Plastic products : Plastic bags, plastic table cloths, nylon ropes, wet wipes
Cardboards : Packaging box
Metal products
Glass products
Household chemicals : Detergents, insecticides
How to choose and handle the collection container？

Notes on the purchase of collection containers:

  • Prepare two plastic buckets, one as a collection container (can put a label at a conspicuous location, such as "Food Waste Containers") and the other is placed beneath the colander to hold the liquid while draining.
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  • The capacity of the collection containers is about 10 - 15 liters, which is for easy transportation.
What are the precautions when separating the food waste?

The precautions during food waste separation:

  • During separation, place the colander on a plastic bucket. Put the "Recyclable" food waste into the colander, drain off the excess liquid and transfer the food waste to the collection container marked "Food Waste Container".
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  • Do not put "Non-recyclable" food waste into the collection container.
How to verify that the food waste was completely drained off?

Put the food waste into the colander until there is no liquid dripping out at the bottom of the colander.
How to measure the weight of the collected food waste?

There are two methods to measure the collected food waste:

Method 1 :
1.Measure the weight of the collection container (weight 1) .
2.Put the drained food waste into the collection container .
3.Put the collection container with food waste onto the scale to weigh (weight 2).
4.Record the net weight of the food waste (i.e. weight 2 – weight 1).

Method 2 :
1.Place the collection container onto the scale.
2.Press the【ZERO】button and notice the indication on the scale should be "zero".
3.Put the drained food waste into the collection container .
4.Record the net weight of the food waste (the weight indicated on the scale).
Is it possible to put all the separated food waste into the composter?
The composter installed at school is a small-medium sized composter. It is mainly for treating small-sized food waste. Therefore, large-sized food waste needs to be cut before putting into the composter. Schools can put the food waste into the composter according to the proportion recommended by the composter supplier.
After a long vacation (e.g. summer holiday), can the composter be used as usual?

After a long vacation, the daily amount of food waste put into the composter should be reduced to 20% of the maximum treatment capacity at the beginning. Afterward, it can be gradually increased to the daily maximum treatment capacity within two weeks.