Doing Simple Things for the Planet

(This article is contributed by our guest writer, Irene Rafer, and was first published in The Shape of My Life.)

“Wastes segregation begins at home.”

Practicing proper waste segregation reduced our household waste to 20% – the rest being recycled.

Metro Manila disposes tons of garbage everyday and time will come that its landfills can no longer accommodate all its wastes.

Our household trash is ordinarily composed of old news papers and scrap papers; cartoons and card boards; plastic bottles and plastic scraps; Styrofoam and the inedible parts of fruits and vegetables that we consume. Instead that those trashes end up to the garbage collectors we managed to segregate and recycle. We piled the scrap papers and card boards in a big cartoon then we allocated a separate sack for our plastic bottles and plastic scraps. Our lifestyle here sometimes demands for the consumption of plastic bottled drinks. Nevertheless, we are trying to be responsible consumer by properly disposing our plastic trash. Read more

Recycling at Commercial Buildings and Industrial Estates

General waste from commercial and industrial premises are collected by licensed general waste collectors and sent to the incineration plants or landfill. For commercial buildings and industrial estates with recycling programmes, recycling bins or skips are placed at certain locations and the recyclables are collected by a recycling collector (usually the recycling service is provided by the same general waste collector). It is not mandatory for commercial buildings and industrial estates to have recycling programmes.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has worked with the JTC Corporation to implement recycling programmes for JTC industrial estates. NEA has also published the Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries to help companies reduce their waste and practise recycling through a waste minimisation plan, tips and case studies. The guidebook is available for download at the NEA website.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

Recycling at Condominiums and Private Apartments

Condominiums and private apartments are not covered under the National Recycling Programme (NRP). But the National Environment Agency (NEA) are working with the Managing Agents and Management Councils of the condominiums and private apartments to introduce recycling programmes. Similar to the National Recycling Programme, recycling bags would be given to residents for their recyclables or recycling bins would be placed at selected locations.

As of Dec 2007, there are 353 condominiums and private apartments with recycling programmes. Recently, the ministry has also announced that it will make it mandatory to have recycling facilities in condominiums and private apartments. This mean that soon all the residential premises (HDB estates, landed properties, condominiums and private apartments) in Singapore will have some form of recycling programme and all residents have the opportunity to recycle.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

Recycling at Home through the National Recycling Programme

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has implemented the National Recycling Programme (NRP) since 2001, where recycling bags or bins are given to residents living in HDB housing estates and landed properties. These recycling bags and bins are provided by appointed recycling contractors and the recyclables are collected fortnightly under the NRP.

You can make use of the recycling programme to recycle items such as paper, plastic and glass bottles, metal cans and old clothing, instead of throwing them away.

In addition, there are recycling bins placed at housing estates (one set of recycling bins placed for every five blocks), and also public recycling bins placed at train stations and high traffic locations. Check out the locations of the nearest recycling bins at the NEA website.

With all these recycling programmes and facilities in place, it’s easy to recycle and there’s no more excuses not to.

Images source: NRP brochure.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

Waste Management and Recycling in Singapore

The public waste collection in Singapore is divided into nine sectors managed by four licensed Public Waste Collectors (PWCs) as shown below.

1. Pasir Ris-Tampines; Bedok; Tanglin-Bukit Merah (by Altvater Jakob Pte Ltd
2. Jurong (by Colex Holdings Ltd)
3. Clementi; City; Hougang-Punggol; Woodlands-Yishun (by SembWaste Pte Ltd)
4. Ang Mo Kio-Toa Payoh (by 800 Super Waste Management Pte Ltd)

The PWCs are responsible for the collection of waste from residential and trade premises in Singapore. They are also required to provide recycling services under the National Recycling Programme (NRP). For commercial and industrial premises, the waste are collected separately by licensed general waste collectors.

The waste collected by the PWCs and general waste collectors are disposed of at the four incineration plants (Tuas, Tuas South, Senoko and Ulu Pandan) and the offshore Semakau landfill. Waste that are incinerable are sent to the incineration plants while non-incinerable waste and incineration ashes are sent to the landfill. About 90% of waste are incinerated and 10% are landfilled.

In 2007, about 2.57 million tonnes of waste was disposed – 58% was generated from residential premises, food centres and markets; and 42% was generated from commercial and industrial premises. Each person generated about 0.88 kg of domestic waste per day.

Waste that are not disposed of are sent for recycling. In 2007, about 3.03 million tonnes of waste was recycled and an overall recycling rate of 54% was achieved. The quantity and recycling rate for each type of waste are shown in the table below:

Image credit: pakalakamino. Table source: National Environment Agency.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

For more tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle your waste, visit the Zero Waste Singapore website.

What is Recycling?

Recycling refers to the processing of used and waste materials into new materials and products. This helps to prevent the disposal of the waste materials and reduce the use of virgin raw materials to manufacture products. Using existing waste material to manufacture products also tends to consume less energy and water resources as compared to using virgin material. The different types of materials that can be recycled includes paper, plastic, metal, glass, wood, horticultural, tyres, food, etc.

Recycling is one of the 3 ‘R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (in order of sequence) in waste management. The sequence is important, as source reduction is usually the best way to minimise waste while recycling still has some impact on the environment and should be done last. Reduce by not creating the waste or minimising the waste in the beginning. Reuse by using the waste several times or for another purpose. Recycle by sending the waste to be processed as a resource.

For example, let’s take a look at a plastic bottle of mineral water. Reduce by not buying the plastic bottle and drink from the tap or use your own water bottle. But if you really have to buy the bottle of water, then reuse it after finishing. Reuse the plastic bottle as your water bottle for refilling, use it as a flower vase, use it for storing other liquids, or use it to make art decorative items. After reusing the plastic bottle for some time and when it becomes dirty or damaged, don’t throw it away. Recycle the plastic bottle by depositing it into the recycling bag or bin under the recycling programmes.

Recycling is not THE solution to our overconsumption and waste problem. Recycling is only ONE of the waste management solutions to reduce the disposal of waste to our incineration plants and landfill, and encourage the reuse of used and waste materials. Recycling has to be practised with other green ideas such as reduce and reuse, sustainable design, design for the environment, cradle to cradle, biomimicry, zero waste, circular economy and sufficiency, in order to solve our waste problems.

Recycling is here to stay. Either you choose to criticise it and don’t practise recycling. Or you can make it work and encourage others to recycle. Whichever choice you make, SG Recycle will give you more information and answer your queries or criticisms on recycling. Stay informed on recycling with our weekly posts.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

Green Events Guide

All events, big or small, use resources and have negative impacts on the environment. The planning, preparation and conducting of events tend to consume water, energy and materials, and produce waste and gas emissions. We understand that event organisers and venue managers would like to reduce their impacts on the environment and go green, but they are not sure how to start.

We have teamed up with ECO Singapore to produce the Green Events Guide. This Green Events Guide aims to provide a framework of principles and practical tips on how event and venue managers can start creating greener events by identifying and reducing the various environmental impacts in its process.

If you are organising an event or managing a venue for an event, we hope that you will take the first step in making the event green. The tips in the guide are not exhaustive but the more tips you implement, the greener is your event.

The following key areas are considered for a green event and are discussed in the Green Events Guide:

• Venue and Transport
• Food and Catering
• Energy and Water
• Materials and Waste

Download the Green Events Guide (pdf 825 KB).

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