A trial at Choa Chu Kang showed that people are motivated to recycle more waste if it is made more convenient.
After a block of HDB flats in the estate had been retrofitted to convert an unused refuse chute into a chute for recyclables, the recycling participation rate of its households increased from 67 per cent inDec 2006 to 93 per cent in July last year.
The amount of recyclables collected through the separate chute was 850kg per month, more than eight times higher than the typical amount of recyclables collected from a block of HDB flats.
In a written reply to a Parliamentary question about the project, Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said that separate chutes for recyclables will also be provided in four new HDB blocks at Fernvale Vista in Sengkang, at the new eco-precinct Treelodge@Punggol and at the first two HDB projects for the renewal of Dawson estate in Queenstown.
“These projects would allow HDB to ascertain the additional costs that come with providing the separate recycling chutes, as well as further assess residents’ receptiveness and monitor the performance of the system, before considering the large-scale implementation of separate recycling chutes,” Dr Yaacob replied to the query by Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC).
For condominiums and private apartments, the Environmental and Public Health Act was amended recently to mandate the provision of recycling receptacles. The law will come into effect on Nov 1 and will be fully implemented next year.
Convenient chutes promote recycling
Household participation in HDB pilot scheme hit 93% in July last year
Judith Tan & Seow Kai Lun, Straits Times 24 Oct 08;
HOUSEWIFE H. K. Chua, 38, used to drive 10 minutes to a nearby primary school to throw her recyclables into a bin provided.
But since a chute just for such refuse was installed on every level of her block of flats in Choa Chu Kang Avenue 2, her green trip is now a mere five steps away.
The separate chutes for recyclable refuse such as bottles, cans and papers are part of a pilot project to make it convenient for households in the heartland to be environmentally-friendly. Block 297C Choa Chu Kang Ave 2 where Madam Chua lives was the testbed.Called the Recyclable Intermediate Chute Holding (Rich) system, it was developed by SembEnviro and installed next to the existing rubbish chute on every floor of the HDB block in December 2006.
Unlike the current centralised refuse chutes, which collect rubbish at ground level, Rich allows recyclable materials to be stored on intermediate floors.
A spokesman for SembEnviro told The Straits Times that these are collected every week.
Within the first seven months, the participation rate of households in recycling increased to 93 per cent in July last year, from 67 per cent at the start of the programme. The scheme also resulted in an average of 850kg of recyclables collected a month - eight times that collected from any other HDB block.
The impressive increase in recyclable waste collected at the Choa Chu Kang block was brought up by Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim in Parliament during a question-and-answer session on Wednesday.
A Straits Times check with 16 households in the green block, comprising mainly young and three-tier families, found that most were motivated by the convenience to recycle more.
Mrs Zahiriah Ibrahim, 39, a teacher, said her maid separated the daily rubbish into two piles, recyclable and non-recyclable, before disposing of the materials.
'Since it is mixed recyclables, I hope SembCorp follows through by separating the different recyclables. I try to do my part by putting the different types of recyclables into different bags,' she said.
Student Stelle Tan, 16, said she would not 'go in search of a bin on purpose just to dump my recyclables'.
'But if the chute is just a hop away, I have no reason not to,' she said.
And should the adults forget, their children and grandchildren serve as their green conscience. Madam Lim Tong Hoi, 69, says her grandchildren would constantly tell her to 'separate the plastics and cans from other rubbish and put them in the right bin'.
Primary school pupil Cadance Chew, seven, said: 'My teacher taught me at school that we must separate what can be recycled. So I try to remind my parents that we need to be green and to throw the newspapers down the recycling chute.'
Madam Sheila Narendran, 31, said the chute outside her flat acts as an extension of what the children are being taught in school. 'At home, with the chute being conveniently located, we just continue the practice of recycling,' she said.
But Madam Chua lamented that the hoppers should be bigger. 'Currently if recyclable stuff does not fit into the hopper, I will carry it downstairs. How many others can be bothered to do the same?' she asked.
Despite that, with the encouraging results from this testbed block, a spokesman for the National Environment Agency said HDB would be providing separate chutes for recyclables in the Eco-Precinct of Treelodge@Punggol and Fernvale Vista in Sengkang.
Separate chutes for recyclables will also be installed at the first two projects under the new generation public housing in the regenerated Dawson estate.
Dr Yaacob said these smaller projects would allow the different agencies to check additional costs, make sure residents are receptive and to monitor the performance of the system 'before considering the large-scale implementation of separate recycling chutes'.