Letter from Lai Nam Khim, Straits Times Forum 26 Jan 08;
I VISITED Sentosa recently and was disappointed with the apparent lack of environmental consideration by Sentosa's management.
I took Sentosa Express which uses a plastic day pass, very much like the ez-link card.
I thought the pass would be reused just like the ez-link single trip tickets. But when I returned to VivoCity, I found that the card was not collected back.
I checked with the service attendant and was told that the card is not reused or recycled.
I was appalled. Given the number of visitors to Sentosa, if every card is thrown away at the end of the day, it is a huge waste of resources.
Is there any reason why the pass could not be reused, or designed to be reused like the ez-link card?
At the Songs Of The Seas, the entrance ticket was a similar thick plastic card. Again, I am puzzled at the wastage. Why is a thick plastic card used, when a simple thin paper ticket would have sufficed? A paper ticket would probably be cheaper and less demanding on the environment. Furthermore, it is impractical as I found the ink came off the plastic card easily and stained my fingers.
At the very least, Sentosa Corp can provide recycle collection bins for these cards so that visitors who have no intention of keeping the cards can deposit them for recycling.
