Admiralty Drive pilot project part of efforts to achieve 60% national recycling rate by 2012
Straits Times 11 Jan 10;
RESIDENTS in Admiralty Drive will have a recycling bin at every HDB block as part of a pilot project to get more people to recycle.
The six-month-long project by the National Environment Agency (NEA), recycling company SembWaste and Canberra constituency will involve 14 HDB blocks.
The current arrangement for such bins in HDB estates is for five blocks to share one bin, which is emptied by waste collectors every week.
MP for Sembawang GRC Lim Wee Kiak said at the launch of the programme yesterday: 'Some residents complain that it's now too far away for them to walk, so we hope having one bin under every block will solve that.'
He asked the National Development Ministry to consider including recycling chutes when building new flats, and making it a building requirement in the future.
The pilot project in his constituency, said Dr Lim, would be a small step towards helping to achieve the goal of a national recycling rate of 60 per cent by 2012. The current rate is 56 per cent.
Residents at Admiralty also had the option of keeping their recyclable items in their homes for two weeks before collectors came around fortnightly. This option will be suspended during the pilot scheme period to better assess how many residents prefer recycling bins.
Admiralty Drive resident Bernadette Sayson prefers making the trip downstairs to deposit her recycling instead of keeping it at home for two weeks.
Said the industrial engineer: 'Sometimes we have so many things we want to recycle. It gets too much such that we can't wait for them to come and collect it, so we just throw it out as garbage.'
The 29-year-old added: 'Having a bin downstairs would be much more convenient than having to walk a few blocks away.'
The extra recycling bins should also solve the problem of overflowing bins, said Dr Lim. SembWaste estimates that increasing the number of recycling bins will raise its costs by 10 to 15 per cent, but believes the extra recyclable material collected will make up the difference.
If the project proves to be a success, it could be rolled out to other neighbourhoods islandwide, said Dr Lim.
MARIA ALMENOAR
Sembawang pilot project to improve recycling habit
Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia 10 Jan 10;
SINGAPORE: A six-month pilot project to improve the recycling habit by increasing the number of recycling bins in the neighbourhood kicked off in Sembawang on Sunday.
Singapore generated nearly six million tonnes of rubbish in 2008. Of this, just over half was recycled. But steps are underway to help more residents go green.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak, MP for Sembawang GRC, said: "The target of 60% recycling rate by 2012 is something we have to work towards together. Some residents complain it's too far for them to walk (to the recycling bins). So to entice them further, (it's) better to bring the recycling bins closer (to them)."
The pilot project covering 14 HDB blocks in Sembawang will see one recycling bin for each block, instead of the usual one bin for every five blocks.
Currently the recyclable materials in this precinct are collected door to door fortnightly. However, for the period of the pilot phase, this will be suspended.
This is in order to gauge the effectiveness of the pilot project and the willingness of the residents to come down from their flats and deposit their recyclables in the new bins.
Residents' reactions to the changes are mixed.
"If they put the bin just near the lift or near the block, it's no problem (for me to deposit the recyclables)," said a resident.
"It's much better if they can collect from my door. The bin is always full, from what I see. And, sometimes people will dig into the bin and mess up the whole place," said another.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said getting residents to recycle properly is still an issue.
Tan Puay Cheow, executive engineer for NEA's Waste Minimisation Section, said: "Sometimes, we do have residents who deposit recyclables around the bin instead of inside the bin. It can cause rodents problem. We have residents who deposit food waste which can contaminate the recyclables, making all these recyclables rubbish or waste."
Still, Dr Lim hopes that with public education, things will improve. If the pilot scheme works, he hopes to push for it to be extended nation-wide.
While there is no cost involved for now, SembWaste estimates that increasing the number of bins to one per block and adding more manpower - if the project is expanded - will correspondingly increase cost by about 10 to 15 percent. This could be reduced if they generate more revenue from the additional recyclable materials collected.
And, Dr Lim hopes that flats or condos could have a separate rubbish chute for recycling bins. "That will make recycling a breeze and a way of life," he said.
- CNA/ir
Recycling is just a ride down in the lift
Alicia Wong Today Online 11 Jan 10;
SINGAPORE - Going greener is just a lift ride away.
Residents in Canberra constituency used to haul their recyclables to a bin that could be located a few blocks away. Now, they need only bring them downstairs.
A six-month pilot project now provides for one recycling bin per Housing and Development Board block instead of one for every five blocks.The first of its kind in Singapore, it was launched yesterday by the constituency, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and SembWaste.
It involves about 1,500 units in 14 blocks in Admiralty Drive.
But there is a trade-off - the fortnightly door-to-door collection of recyclable rubbish within the blocks has been suspended for the same period to gauge residents' willingness to bring their items down for recycling.
Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC Lim Wee Kiak said he does not expect many complaints. Residents like to get rid of their recyclables as soon as possible, rather than collecting them for two weeks.
"We want to increase the recycling rate. The current (national) rate of 56 per cent is very good, but the target of 60 per cent recycling rate by 2012 is something we all have to work together," said Dr Lim.
"Some residents complain it's too far for them to walk (to the bins). So to entice them further, (it's) better to bring the recycling bins closer."
Dr Lim said he will push for the project to be a national programme if NEA's evaluation shows the pilot project to be successful.
An additional 10 bins plus more manpower is now required and these will increase costs by up to 15 per cent, said SembCorp Environment's senior vice-president for asset management C K Lim.
A corresponding 15 to 20 per cent increase in recyclables is needed to generate more revenue as the company is not charging extra for its service.
For now, one challenge is to educate residents on which items can be recycled.
The bins can be contaminated by food waste which turn all the recyclables into "rubbish", said Mr Tan Puay Cheow, NEA's executive engineer for waste minimisation.
Resident Oh Ah Moy, 70, said, "It's very convenient to have the bins downstairs ... (going to the bins) is like exercise."
Having a recycling bin under each block might also increase their awareness. Mdm Li, a resident for 10 years, did not even know there were such bins in her estate. ALICIA WONG
