Approximately 95–97% of collected waste is taken to landfi lls for disposal. The remaining waste is sent to small incineration plants, diverted to recyclers, or dumped illegally (Idris et al., 2004). These disposal methods cause groundwater and soil pollution. Furthermore, biogas from food waste has not been used for commercial application as a potential energy source. In particular, Malaysian food waste easily putrefi es because of its high water content, making its transport and storage diffi cult. This type of waste can also cause serious problems when dumped in landfi lls because of the leachate that it produces.