KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 30 -- As world leaders exchange handshakes and sign deals in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) this week, a small uncelebrated workforce has been deployed to ensure their headline-making activities proceed smoothly.

A team of 130-odd janitors dressed in grey uniforms move quietly to ensure the space used by delegates for the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits, hosted by Malaysia, remain impeccably clean.

In just three days, the convention centre's waste management team collected roughly eight tonnes of food waste and another one and a half tonnes of general waste - a scale that KLCC general manager John Burke said highlights the enormity of the cleaning crew's task.

Asked about the amount of waste produced...