Recycling set to rise with compulsory bins at condos

NEA sending notices to private apartments; they will have 6 months to comply
Shuli Sudderuddin & Seow Kai Lun, Straits Times 20 Nov 08;

IT IS waste not in Parc Oasis.

Since the Jurong East condominium installed two recycling bins at each of its 10 blocks last month, it has netted one tonne of discarded items a month - up from less than half a tonne previously.

Then, there was only one large recycling bin for the whole estate. Now, the discards can be separated into paper and other items.

The cleaners from cleaning company Coverall also benefit. They can make up to $30 a month by selling what is collected to recycling firms.

Almost four in 10 households in private apartments like Parc Oasis, where recycling facilities exist, make use of them.

The number is set to rise, after it was made compulsory this month to provide recycling bins at condos and private apartments.

The National Environment Agency sent out notices this month to 400 condos with more than 50 units each. They have been given six months to comply with the requirement. The remaining condos will receive notices in phases over the next few months.

The Government aims to have such facilities in all condos by the end of next year. The penalties for condos which do not comply include a warning letter and a 28-day grace period, after which a $200 fine will be meted out.

Said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, at the launch of Recycling Day on Saturday in Jurong East: 'There's a lot of demand by...households in the private condominiums to have recycling facilities, but we have left this to the management committee to decide on the mode.

'What we're interested in is the outcome - that residents there have access to recycling facilities.'

Indeed, some condos started recycling initiatives on their own even before the new rules were announced.

The Straits Times did a check with 10 condos, and found that half already had bins for paper and other recyclable materials.

Nouvelle Park in Yio Chu Kang, for example, has a bin for paper in its carpark. When it is full, the estate management sells the paper to the rag-and-bone man.

At Legenda condo in Joo Chiat, residents were the driving force behind its recycling facilities.

They came up with the idea of obtaining recycling bins to encourage all residents to recycle and do their part for the environment, said retiree James Ling, 61, a member of the Legenda management council.

Since the bins were set up in March, even residents who never recycled have started doing so.

Said housewife Jasmine Tan, 37: 'I now make it a point to separate my trash, taking what can be recycled to the bins at the back.'

Developers have also tried to play their part in helping condos to go green.

Property developer City Developments (CDL), which won the President's Award for the Environment last year, has built recycling corners in its condos.

Its latest recycling initiative is a dual pneumatic disposal system, which can be found in three recently completed projects this year.

These are Parc Emily at Mount Emily Park, St Regis in Orchard Road and The Sail@Marina Bay.

Two chutes are located in the common corridor, one for normal trash and the other for recyclables.

This prompted Parc Emily resident, Mrs Nicole Wong, 35, to start recycling.

'In the past, the excuse was that it was inconvenient. Now, there's no longer any reason not to recycle,' said the IT sales manager.