SYMBIOTIC: Social-industrial sYmbiosis of Malaysia’s BIO-plasTIC wastes

Less than 25% of Malaysia’s annual 42M tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is recycled. The organic fraction represents a wasted 13.1TWh while 6.3M tonnes of plastic ends up in landfill annually.

SYMBIOTIC exploits synergies between food and plastic waste recycling. Participatory stakeholder engagement activities designed to encourage behaviour change will support communities to separate wastes and increase recycling rates. A decision-support tool will be created alongside a circular economy business model framework. Designs for Phase 2 urban regeneration activities utilizing SYMBIOTIC’s organic by-products will be developed.

The project aims for >50% female participation (SDG5), generating clean, secure, affordable fuel from food waste during Phase 2 for local community and business use (SDG7). It will target women and those on low incomes with CE business models (SDG8); combine innovative technologies to support local infrastructure (SDG9) and replace fossil fuel use, reducing landfill GHG emissions (SDG13).