Spring cleaning in Singapore

Starting on a clean slate
2010 kicks off and it feels like the dawn of spring - spring cleaning, that is
tay suan chiang, Straits Times Life 2 Jan 10;

The six-week festive period from Christmas to Chinese New Year is more than about getting together with family and feasting. It is also a time when most people do their spring cleaning.

Spring cleaning the home before Chinese New Year is a traditional practice in Chinese families. It is believed the cleaning removes the bad luck from the old year, making room for good fortune in the new one.

Take, for instance, secretary Jane Lee, 35, who is preparing to rummage through her clutter in her Bishan four-room flat starting today. 'It's a habit that I've had since I was young. The start of the year is a good time to do some major spring cleaning.'

One of the tasks the mother-of-two has earmarked is throwing out old clothes and other items which she no longer uses.

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), 'about 5 per cent more than the average amount of waste is disposed from December to February'. On average, Singapore generates 7,000 tonnes of waste daily, and in December, the figure goes up by a further 187 tonnes every day.

While the NEA does not track what waste is discarded, the spokesman says 'it would generally be household waste thrown out from spring cleaning'.

SembWaste, one of four public waste collectors in Singapore, says it collects about 20 to 30 per cent more waste during the festive period of Christmas through the Chinese New Year.

'There is also an increase in the amount of bulky waste during the festive season and these include furniture and electrical appliances,' says its spokesman.

Mr Jeremy Taylor, managing director at second-hand goods company Cash Converters, says it sees a 'spike in the number of transactions' at this time.

He adds that in other months, customers generally bring in single items to sell. 'But since early December, they bring in items such as electrical appliances, saucers and cups. We get about 20 per cent more items brought in and this will continue till Chinese New Year.'

December to February is also a busier time for Introtech Trading, a company in Jurong that buys and sells used goods from karung guni (rag and bone) collectors.

Introtech supervisor Tok Kim Chwee was unable to give exact figures but says it gets 'more items coming in these three months, compared to the rest of the year'.

These include clothes, shoes and handbags, and electrical appliances such as television sets, computers and DVD players.

Clothes, shoes and handbags which are still in good condition are sold to second- hand dealers in Indonesia. Electrical items that can be repaired are done so at the warehouse and later sold to second-hand dealers in India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Items that are beyond repair and cannot be sold, such as washing machines, are dismantled. The metal and plastic parts are sold to local scrap merchants.

The NEA says waste that can be incinerated is disposed of at its Waste-to- Energy incineration plants in Tuas: Heat energy produced from the combustion process is used to generate electricity, while ferrous metals from the ash residue are recovered for recycling.

So some of that stuff you throw out in your big clean-up could help the upcoming Year of the Tiger start with a roar - the roar of incinerator flames, that is.