Letter from Ong Wooi-Chin, Straits Times Forum 15 Nov 07;
THE punitive fine Mr Muhammad Hazique Salahudin advocates in 'Make recycling a must, fine those who don't' (ST, Nov 9) short-changes the real impact of recycling.
The claim that imposing fines on those who do not recycle would over time create the desired behaviours gives too much credit to punitive solutions. It misplaces the burden of change on consumers.
It certainly does not mean that consumers do not need to change their mindset towards recycling; rather, the most effective way to elicit this change is to educate consumers and to create a user-friendly structure to recycle.
Many corporate distributors are requiring that manufacturers incorporate the notion of 'recycling' into the design stage of the products. In 1991, when Germany shifts responsibility of the entire life cycle of material to the manufacturer, it also provides consumers with a structure and incentive to recycle.
At the same time, the government enforced 'take back' laws where companies must have a system of accepting used products for recycling.
The concept is 'cradle to cradle', from the manufacturing to disposing of a product, there is to be zero waste. That really got the attention of both manufacturers and consumers.
I am sure punitive measures will work, but it's going to take much longer to change the behaviour of consumers without providing them with a system and incentive to recycle.
All shopping malls, condos and landed estates should have recycling bins
Letter from Choo Ooi Weng Straits Times Forum 15 Nov 07
I AM glad to read the letter, 'Make recycling a must, fine those who don't' (ST, Nov 9), which shows that there are many who keenly support the recycling movement.
It is not just about saving the Earth, but an overall mindset of gracious communal living.
We complain about air pollution, dirty water and loss of green habitats to bring our children to, but making a bit of effort to be less wasteful generally and recycle what we can is often beyond our comfort zone. We need to set good examples to our children as the situation is only going to get worse in their lifetimes.
While I think imposing fines may be a step too far, the Government does need to do more to promote the habit of recycling.
My wife is an ardent recycler and collects most of our recyclable trash in bundles in our car boot, and we will make weekly trips to the recycling bins in the HDB void decks or Suntec mall.
There simply needs to be more recycling facilities/bins everywhere. All shopping malls should have them, and I am not talking about the tiny little bins that can barely fit three soft drink bottles.
Extend the bins to private condos and landed estates as well. The East Coast Park has plenty of recreation and eating areas, but no recycling bins. Certainly more can and must be done.
