Usual disposal methods no longer sustainable and viable, says Balakrishnan
Kok Xing Hui Today Online 3 Jul 13;
SINGAPORE — The dense haze episode two weeks ago was a “special, extreme case of waste disposal gone wrong”, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.
It was agricultural waste incinerated out in the open, leading to smog in the air that people were forced to breathe, said the minister, who cited the haze as an example of how the rising amount of waste generated posed a threat to the environment.
Speaking at the Waste Management Symposium and 3R Packaging Awards yesterday, he noted that the amount of waste generated per person per day currently has doubled from the World Bank estimate of 0.64kg a decade ago. The 0.64kg figure is expected to triple in the next 10 years.
This poses a potential environmental crisis, as air and environment quality is crucial in a world where half the people live in densely-populated cities. This compared to the past, when cities were less populated and “only a few are inconvenienced” if things went wrong.
Dr Balakrishnan cautioned that the usual ways of waste disposal are no longer sustainable and viable. “The day will come when we no longer have any more landfills,” he said. “And a day will come when we will have to recycle — not just because the raw materials are valuable but because you can’t afford to dump it anywhere else.”
He cited packaging waste as an example, saying that it makes up a third of what the public discards at home. “It is ethically wrong that more than 80 per cent of our waste consists of recyclable material … yet so little of that is recycled,” he added.
Sixteen companies were lauded yesterday for their efforts and achievements in reducing packaging waste. These companies were amongst 128 signatories to the second Singapore Packaging Agreement signed in 2012 .
Since the first agreement in 2007, 12,900 tonnes of packaging waste were cumulatively reduced, saving signatories about S$31 million in the material costs of locally consumed products. Firms who signed the second agreement will work towards a total annual reduction of 6,500 tonnes of packaging waste by 2015. As of last month, the total amount reduced was about 4,800 tonnes.
Dr Balakrishnan, however, felt that the productivity of Singapore’s waste disposal industry could improve. “Our labour productivity, our land productivity, our use of technology, and really, the value-add of a worker for this sector is far too low,” he said. “We should be able to do so much more with fewer workers, but to be able to pay them more as well.”
The Republic’s waste disposal industry employs 12,000 workers. Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) chairman Jerome Baco said: “Adoption of new technologies might help increase the labour productivity to match the higher ratios that we can see in Taiwan or Japan.”
The minister added that Singapore has roughly 1,000 drivers and crew who have undergone Workforce Skills Qualifications training and the country needs to enable these workers to progress to a “higher occupational level”, such as supervisors and managers, and to pay them more.
Singapore 'behind others' in managing waste
Firms yet to adopt new technology that uses space and labour efficiently
Grace Chua Straits Times 3 Jul 13;
SINGAPORE lags behind other developed countries when it comes to waste management, a symposium on the subject was told yesterday.
Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore chairman Jerome Baco said the industry employs 12,000 staff and occupies 517ha but processes just 1.6 tonnes of waste per worker per day - half of Taiwan's productivity and a third of Japan's. Firms are not using new technologies, which are costly but space- and labour-efficient, he told the second Waste Management Symposium at Singapore Expo.
Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also said the Republic can do "so much more" to improve its waste management record.
Speaking as guest of honour, he said the National Environment Agency and the association have been working since last November to develop new standards, training and technology for the sector.
If productivity can be lifted, then fewer workers will be needed and they can be paid more, Dr Balakrishnan said.
The lack of public participation in recycling is also a problem with household waste like plastic and food often being incinerated and going to landfill.
Each year, 803,400 tonnes of plastic waste is generated, making it fourth among the top five waste streams, after ferrous metals, construction debris and paper or cardboard, which all have higher recycling rates. Just 10 per cent of plastic is recycled, a rate that has stayed the same since 2001.
"One-third of the waste we discard at home is packaging waste," Dr Balakrishnan noted. However the 128 companies and groups that have signed the Singapore Packaging Agreement since 2007 have reduced their packaging waste by 14,900 tonnes.
The voluntary agreement aims to get producers to reduce the material used in product packaging and recycle packaging waste.
Dr Balakrishnan also presented the 3R Packaging Awards to 16 firms for outstanding efforts in doing this. Winners included Nestle Singapore, which cut packaging from its Yang Sheng Le herbal soups and Milo powdered drink mixes, and LHT Holdings, which makes pallets, packaging and doors from horticultural and industrial wood waste.
LHT began using recycled material in the late 1990s, after then Environment Minister Yeo Cheow Tong announced that fees for waste incineration would rise. Its managing director Neo Koon Boo said: "Our target is zero waste."
Productivity of Singapore's waste management industry 'abysmal': Vivian Balakrishnan
Channel NewsAsia 2 Jul 13;
SINGAPORE: Environment Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said there is a big gap in Singapore's current performance in waste management.
While the industry employs 12,000 workers, he said productivity figures are "abysmal".
Speaking at the Waste Management Symposium on Tuesday, Dr Balakrishnan said more could be done with fewer workers who should be paid more.
"Today, one-third of the waste we discard at home is estimated to be packaging waste and each person discards about 100 kilogrammes of packaging waste in a year. The packaging waste is almost entirely recyclable and yet most of that packing waste does not end up being recycled," he said.
Using the haze in Singapore as an example, Dr Balakrishnan also said air quality is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
"It was agricultural waste. It was incinerated not in an incinerator but out in the open and all that smog ended up in the air which we were all forced to breathe without any choice two weeks ago. What we experienced was a clear example of waste disposal gone wrong."
The Singapore Packaging Agreement may offer a solution to that.
Since 2007, companies have reduced a total of 14,900 tons of packaging waste.
Sixteen companies were also recognised for their efforts in reducing packaging waste at the 3R Packaging Awards.
A new Singapore Packaging Agreement (SPA) drawn up on Monday will see companies reduce packaging waste by another 6,500 tons by 2015.
Initiatives include reducing the size of product packaging and switching to reusable packaging.
- CNA/fa
