Move to get retailers to limit plastic bag usage

This is in line with plan to make it compulsory for businesses to report on packaging waste
Low De Wei Straits Times 6 Jun 18;

Supermarkets and other retailers may be required to report the amount of plastic bags they use, and plans to reduce their usage, by 2021.

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, announced this on World Environment Day yesterday at the launch of the United Nations (UN) Environment's #BeatPlasticPollution Campaign.

This move is in line with previously announced plans by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to make it mandatory by 2021 for businesses to report on their packaging waste and waste reduction plans.

Yesterday, a 120m caterpillar made of discarded plastic bottles was unveiled at Marina Barrage to raise awareness about plastic pollution. The art installation will be on display for a month. During that time, more plastic bottles will be added to its body by volunteers from schools, businesses and government agencies.

The artwork, which will be made up of 18,000 bottles in all, will then be broken up and displayed in schools as smaller art installations.

Two other art installations at City Square Mall and South Beach Avenue, along with recycled plastic installations in 11 other Asia-Pacific cities, also aim to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

Dr Khor reiterated the need to tackle excessive consumption of disposable plastic, pointing to how disposable utensils will not be allowed for dine-in usage at new hawker centres here. "The manufacturing of more plastics and the stagnating recycling rate have exacerbated climate change," she said.

NEA figures show that the rate of plastic recycling fell last year, even as the amount of plastic waste generated has decreased.

Some 815,200 tonnes of plastic waste were generated last year, down from 822,200 tonnes in 2016. But less than 6 per cent of the waste was recycled in 2017, compared with 7 per cent in 2016.

Governments around the world have acted to reduce the amount of plastic waste in recent years. Britain has pledged to eradicate avoidable plastic waste by 2042 and is considering banning plastic straws. Malaysia's new government is considering banning the use of plastic bags in a year's time.

Dr Isabelle Louis, UN Environment's deputy regional director and representative for Asia and the Pacific, said South-east Asian countries, including Singapore, have not done enough to tackle plastic pollution.

She stressed the importance of legislative solutions, such as banning single-use plastic, but added that such restrictions must come with measures by governments and businesses to promote sustainability efforts.

"There is also a need to give more incentives to the private sector to bring in alternatives... such as reducing tax imposition, encouraging innovation and laws that ensure better enforcement (of environmental laws)," she said.

Some countries, said Dr Louis, remain hesitant about introducing bans because of concerns about a lack of alternatives and negative economic consequences. In such cases, companies can provide alternatives.


Plastic bags targeted as Singapore marks World Environment Day
LOW DE WEI The New Paper 6 Jun 18;

Supermarkets and other retailers may be required to report the amount of plastic bags they use and plans to reduce their usage by 2021.

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, announced this on World Environment Day yesterday at the launch of the United Nations (UN) Environment's #BeatPlasticPollution campaign.

The move is in line with earlier plans by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to make it mandatory by 2021 for businesses to report on their packaging waste and their waste reduction plans.

Separately, four major electronic retailers - Best Denki, Courts, Gain City and Harvey Norman - announced they will be putting up 20 e-waste collection bins at their outlets by the end of this week for shoppers to dispose of their old mobile phones, dead batteries and other e-waste.

The move is part of a new agreement that sees the four companies joining the REcycling Nation's Electronic Waste (Renew) programme, a voluntary community initiative jointly run by telco StarHub, delivery firm DHL and recycler TES.

Yesterday, a 120m caterpillar made from discarded plastic bottles was also unveiled at Marina Barrage to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

The art installation will be on display for a month, during which more plastic bottles decorated to look like flowers will be added by volunteers from schools, businesses and government agencies.

Two other art installations at City Square Mall and South Beach Avenue, along with recycled plastic installations located in 11 other Asia Pacific cities, will also be put up to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

Dr Khor reiterated the need to tackle excessive use of disposable plastic, pointing to how disposable utensils will not be allowed in new hawker centres here for dine-in.

CLIMATE CHANGE
"The manufacturing of more plastics, and the stagnating recycling rate have exacerbated climate change," she said.

Figures released by the NEA show that the rate of plastic recycling fell last year, even as the amount of plastic waste generated has decreased.

Some 815,200 tonnes of plastic waste were generated last year, down from 822,200 tonnes in 2016.

Less than 6 per cent of plastic waste was recycled last year, compared with 7 per cent in 2016. - ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KIMBERLEY CHIA