Junn Loh Channel NewsAsia 22 Jan 19;
SINGAPORE: A new S$2 million grant has been launched to help people and organisations raise awareness of zero-waste living in Singapore.
The Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) announced on Tuesday (Jan 22) that the Towards Zero Waste grant will be made available from Feb 1 as the country accelerates its efforts to become a zero-waste nation.
More than seven million tonnes of waste was generated in Singapore in 2017, according to the latest statistics from the National Environment Agency (NEA).
Funding will be issued for initiatives that drive two components - waste reduction and recycling. They must focus on any of the three areas: packaging waste, food waste and electrical and electronic waste, or cover efforts that encourage right recycling in households.
Members of the public, interest groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), grassroots organisations and corporations are eligible to apply for the grant.
“We hope to support ground-up initiatives from the people, public and private sectors that will rally the community to take positive actions,” said Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, during a visit to the SembWaste Materials Recovery Facility on Tuesday.
"I encourage individuals and groups with good ideas for reducing waste and recycling right to come forward to apply for this grant."
Singapore has blue recycling bins in housing estates islandwide, but some 40 per cent of the load collected is tainted with liquid or food waste, according to the NEA.
These contaminated items cannot be recycled and are typically sent to incinerators.
2019 has been designated as Singapore’s Year Towards Zero Waste. The campaign aims to raise awareness of waste issues and the need to conserve precious resources, with the S$2 million grant the latest in a slew of initiatives being rolled out.
Source: CNA(my)
S$2 million grant launched to support ground-up efforts to support recycling, cut waste
NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 22 Jan 19;
SINGAPORE — Every morning, trucks from waste-management company Sembcorp make their rounds in several estates around Singapore to pick up recyclables from the blue bins at Housing and Development Board blocks.
The recyclables are sorted at Sembcorp’s Materials Recovery Facility in Tuas, but contaminated or unrecyclable items such as wet plastics, food waste and drinks make up a whopping 40 per cent of what is collected.
The facility — the largest in Singapore — receives up to 60 tonnes of waste a day but is only able to recycle 50 to 60 per cent of it, said Mr Tan Chee Boon, 46, a manager at the facility.
The recycling rate has remained stagnant for 10 years. Mr Tan recalled that on one occasion, the facility had to stop operations for 30 to 40 minutes because a packet of curry powder — which was among the recyclables — broke. Workers had to use a mechanical air ventilator to clear the facility of the powder.
The Government has designated 2019 as the “Year Towards Zero Waste” and, in a bid to boost recycling rates, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor announced on Tuesday (Jan 22) the launch of a S$2 million grant to support community efforts to reduce waste.
“Through the ‘Towards Zero Waste Grant’, we hope to support ground-up initiatives from the people, public and private sectors that will rally the community to take positive actions, and help Singapore achieve its vision of a Zero Waste Nation,” Dr Khor told reporters on a visit to Sembcorp’s facility.
“I encourage individuals and groups with good ideas for reducing waste and recycling right to come forward to apply for this grant,” she said.
A spokesman from the National Environment Agency said further details on the grant would be available on its website on Feb 1.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, more than half of Singaporeans polled feel that it is important to recycle regularly but lack understanding of what materials could be recycled.
“Currently, 40 per cent of what goes into the blue recycling bins cannot be recycled because people put in items… such as shoes, tissue paper as well as items which are contaminated with food waste or liquid. As a result of this, the workers have to spend considerable time and effort to separate these items from what can be recycled,” said Dr Khor.
S$2 million grant launched to support ground-up efforts to support recycling, cut waste
NAVENE ELANGOVAN Today Online 22 Jan 19;
SINGAPORE — Every morning, trucks from waste-management company Sembcorp make their rounds in several estates around Singapore to pick up recyclables from the blue bins at Housing and Development Board blocks.
The recyclables are sorted at Sembcorp’s Materials Recovery Facility in Tuas, but contaminated or unrecyclable items such as wet plastics, food waste and drinks make up a whopping 40 per cent of what is collected.
The facility — the largest in Singapore — receives up to 60 tonnes of waste a day but is only able to recycle 50 to 60 per cent of it, said Mr Tan Chee Boon, 46, a manager at the facility.
The recycling rate has remained stagnant for 10 years. Mr Tan recalled that on one occasion, the facility had to stop operations for 30 to 40 minutes because a packet of curry powder — which was among the recyclables — broke. Workers had to use a mechanical air ventilator to clear the facility of the powder.
The Government has designated 2019 as the “Year Towards Zero Waste” and, in a bid to boost recycling rates, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor announced on Tuesday (Jan 22) the launch of a S$2 million grant to support community efforts to reduce waste.
“Through the ‘Towards Zero Waste Grant’, we hope to support ground-up initiatives from the people, public and private sectors that will rally the community to take positive actions, and help Singapore achieve its vision of a Zero Waste Nation,” Dr Khor told reporters on a visit to Sembcorp’s facility.
“I encourage individuals and groups with good ideas for reducing waste and recycling right to come forward to apply for this grant,” she said.
A spokesman from the National Environment Agency said further details on the grant would be available on its website on Feb 1.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, more than half of Singaporeans polled feel that it is important to recycle regularly but lack understanding of what materials could be recycled.
“Currently, 40 per cent of what goes into the blue recycling bins cannot be recycled because people put in items… such as shoes, tissue paper as well as items which are contaminated with food waste or liquid. As a result of this, the workers have to spend considerable time and effort to separate these items from what can be recycled,” said Dr Khor.
$2 million grant to fund zero-waste initiatives
Cheryl Teh Straits Times 22 Jam 19;
SINGAPORE - People looking to kick-start ground-up initiatives to drive waste reduction and recycling can bid for $2 million worth of funding from February this year.
Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor announced on Tuesday (Jan 22) that the funds are for projects specifically targeting zero waste, particularly in the areas of packaging waste, food waste, and electrical and electronic waste (e-waste).
These waste streams are key areas that Singapore can improve a lot on, Dr Khor said during a site visit to a Sembcorp facility in Tuas.
The Republic is the second-largest e-waste producer in the region, according to a study by global think-tank United Nations University which estimates that Singapore generated about 109,000 tonnes of e-waste - 19.5kg a person - in 2014.
"With this zero-waste grant, we want to encourage people to put forth initiatives and projects that will help us drive recycling forward," said Dr Khor.
She added that the grant is one of many initiatives that the National Environment Agency (NEA) will be putting in place as Singapore works towards its vision of a Zero Waste Nation.
"We hope to work towards being zero-waste efficient. We will encourage people to, firstly, reduce their waste up front - and to not only recycle more, but recycle right," said Dr Khor.
She encouraged individuals and groups to come forward with good ideas and projects for reducing waste and recycling.
According to the NEA, this grant will encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling - to conserve the Republic's resources and extend the lifespan of the Semakau landfill.
The grant will also pave the way for a zero-waste nation, by having a circular economy, where waste is reused and repurposed continually through a loop of recycling.
Those on the front lines of waste management say that people need to learn to recycle correctly.
About 50 to 60 tonnes of waste arrives at the Sembcorp materials recovery facility in Tuas, where sorters work six days a week to remove recyclable materials from non-recyclables, said Mr Tan Chee Boon, manager at Sembcorp’s Materials Recovery facility.
The waste that arrives at Sembcorp's facility then goes through bag splitters, and several layers of sorting, where paper is separated from plastic and metal, and recyclables are salvaged from a sea of contaminated material.
Mr Tan estimates that about 40 to 50 per cent of waste at the facility is contaminated or not recyclable, and has to be sent to Sembcorp's commercial and industrial waste plant on Jurong Island.
This, Mr Tan said, is chiefly due to contamination - for example, with people dumping rotting food waste onto clean paper and plastic.
Individuals, interest groups, non-governmental organisations, grassroots organisations, and corporations can apply for the grant from Feb 1.
