In 2020, Singapore generated 6.5 million tonnes of food waste, of which only 19% was recycled:
Singaporean farmer Chua Kai-Ning with PhuaJun Wei founded startup Insectta in 2017, which is battling the country's food waste crisis. Their main ally in this: the larvae of the black lion fly.
According to Chua, the idea behind her startup was to ensure that nothing goes to waste: food waste can be rethought as a resource, and new opportunities will open up.
The startup feeds fly larvae with food waste: they eat up to eight tons per month. Their diet includes by-products from soybean and beer factories.
When the larvae develop into adults, theyform a cocoon and after 10-14 days an adult fly appears. Insectta has developed a patented technology for obtaining biomaterials from their exoskeleton. One of these biomaterials is chitosan, a substance with antioxidant properties that is used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Insectta plans to produce 500 kg of chitosan per day.
The startup also dries up the larvae and uses them.as animal feed, and turns their excrement into agricultural fertilizer. The heads of the startup hope their approach and biomaterials will revolutionize the insect-based food industry.
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