Cost of creating recycling culture in Singapore high: MM

Straits Times 20 Oct 09;

IT WILL cost Singapore an arm and a leg to create a recycling culture in public housing estates, the way the Japanese have done in their homes, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew believes.

He was responding to a Singapore Management University student, who noted that Singapore fell behind other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea in recycling and energy efficiency.

Ms Ng Yi Qi, a first-year arts and social sciences student at the university, asked how Singapore could do more to mitigate against climate change.

'I do not believe we can ever equal the Japanese. They are most thorough, the most disciplined, the most cohesive nation,' MM Lee replied.

'When they decide to do something, they do it. I remember one energy crisis, and they said: 'No hotel, no room anywhere should be lower than 25 deg C'. And, well, I just sweated away.'

He said Singapore is studying Japanese innovations in energy efficiency, just as it learned about productivity from them.

On recycling, the main problem is that the single rubbish chute in every Housing and Development Board flat encourages residents to throw everything into it, instead of separating their recyclables from food waste as the Japanese, Taiwanese and South Koreans commonly do.

'We have thought about this very carefully, but just restructuring the buildings to make the lift stop on every floor...may cost nearly $100,000 per flat. You start putting two or three chutes into every flat, where do you find the space and what will it cost?' he asked.

He also did not believe that a global deal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions could be found at December's international summit in Copenhagen. This is because major countries like the United States and China are all waiting for each other to move before committing to specific targets.

Singapore is also preparing to rebut the likes of Japan and Australia, which believe that Singapore should be subjected to firm targets because of its high per capita emissions from its industries.

Such targets would slow down Singapore's growth. He felt the imposition would be unfair because half or three-quarters of Singapore's manufacturing goods are for export or goods consumed elsewhere.

CLARISSA OON