LOUISA TANG Today Online 2 Oct 18;
SINGAPORE — Consumers should pay for single-use carrier bags made of all materials — not only plastic — but bags used to carry fresh produce should be exempted from any charge, Mr Louis Ng said on Monday (Oct 1).
In this way, consumers will still have some free bags for binning their trash, but fewer plastic bags will be consumed overall.
Mr Ng, who is Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC), cautioned that the issue of plastic waste has “reached a turning point”.
“If we don’t do anything about it, there will be more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050,” he said in an adjournment motion in Parliament.
The Government will continue to monitor developments on this front, replied Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources.
In March, the authorities said that it would not impose a charge on plastic bags, adding that substituting them with other types of disposable bags, such as paper ones, may not be better for the environment in Singapore’s case.
Paper and biodegradable bags may require as much resources to produce and have a similar environmental impact, as waste here is incinerated before going to the landfill and not left to decay, Dr Khor said at the time.
The British government estimated that a cotton tote bag must be used 173 times before its greenhouse gas emission impact improves beyond the plastic bags we use to line our bins, Dr Khor said on Monday.
The issue of charging consumers for plastic bags has been the subject of animated debate for years in Singapore.
On Mr Ng’s proposed approach — which is what Hong Kong has done — Dr Khor said it complicates the system and makes enforcement more difficult. Some reports have stated that non-compliance by retailers in Hong Kong is about one-third to half, she said.
Mr Ng noted that there are critics of what Hong Kong is doing. “But at least Hong Kong is trying, and I’d rather be optimistic and say, not bad, 50 per cent of retailers are compliant, good start,” he said.
Charging for carrier bags has been effective in cutting usage, he said. Lifestyle brand Miniso reported a drop of 75 per cent in customers’ plastic-bag usage after its stores began charging 10 cents for every such bag last year.
“This throwaway culture is so deeply ingrained… Even when I take my own reusable bag to the supermarket, the cashier sometimes puts my groceries first into a plastic bag, and then into my reusable bag,” Mr Ng said.
‘PLASTIC WRAPPED IN MORE PLASTIC’
In his speech, Mr Ng also urged the public sector to take the lead in reducing plastic waste. At this year’s National Day Parade (NDP), the fun pack contained “many plastic items individually wrapped in more plastic”, and each person received a plastic bag for waste items.
“If NDP 2019 were to use only reusable items with minimal packaging, it would send a strong signal that our nation is committed to building a sustainable world,” he said.
Dr Khor said public agencies have a best-practice guide on organising environment-friendly events. Her ministry does not serve bottled water at its meetings, for example.
However, major events such as the NDP may not be able to “do away entirely” with items such as bottled water because of the large number of people present.
In order to tackle packaging waste on a larger scale, Dr Khor announced that businesses will have to report the type and amount of packaging they put on the market and their plans for reduction by 2020, a year earlier than previously said.
The Government is also studying whether it is feasible to impose collection targets on businesses that use or produce packaging, through the Extended Producer Responsibility approach for packaging waste. A third of domestic waste comes from packaging.
More details on the initiatives will be released in the inaugural Zero Waste Masterplan, to be launched next year.
Plastic waste and marine plastics are a growing problem worldwide, killing a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year. A recent study found 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic weighing 80,000 tonnes now floating in the ocean between California and Hawaii.
Mr Ng added that Singapore is tackling symptoms of the problem, but Dr Khor disagreed and said the Government’s measures deal with the root cause of marine pollution.
She said: “Marine pollution is caused by improper disposal of plastic waste, and not the use of plastics per se."
The Government will continue addressing the issue of marine plastics pollution through “stringent anti-littering measures, educating the public against littering and excessive consumption of plastics, and introducing regulatory measures to minimise plastic and packaging waste upstream”.
“We will not hesitate to legislate where necessary. But we will do so by taking a pragmatic and considered approach that suits our local context,” Dr Khor said.
Charging for carrier bags one way to rid Singapore of 'throwaway culture': Louis Ng
Matthew Mohan Channel NewsAsia 1 Oct 18;
SINGAPORE: Member of Parliament Louis Ng has proposed that charging for single-use carrier bags - regardless of the material they are made of - be enforced and that the public sector reviews its waste generation practices, as he called on Singapore to take the lead in reducing plastic waste.
Raising an adjournment motion in Parliament on Monday (Oct 1), Mr Ng described the plastic waste problem as an "urgent public safety issue" that must be addressed.
"Plastic can no longer be seen as just an environmental problem," he said. "It is a danger to the health of our ecosystems and to our own health."
Citing 2016 statistics, Mr Ng pointed out that Singapore discarded 27 billion plastic bags, an average of 13 bags per person per day.
"This throwaway culture is so deeply ingrained," he said. "Even when I bring my own reusable bag to the supermarket, the cashier sometimes puts my groceries first into a plastic bag, and then into my reusable bag. We really need to start thinking about our plastic bag use."
Emphasising the need for a "plastic-lite" Singapore, Mr Ng said that enforcing a carrier bag charge policy would be one way to drastically reduce the demand for plastic.
Citing the example of IKEA Singapore which applied a 10 cent bag charge in 2007 and stopped offering disposable bags six years later, Mr Ng said that a levied fee can be a step towards eliminating the use of all disposable plastic items.
But some exemptions can be made, he said.
"Using reusable bags to carry fresh produce, raw meat or seafood may be unhygienic, so plastic bags should be given out for such items," Mr Ng proposed.
"In this way, people can still obtain some bags to bin their trash, maintaining the cleanliness and safety of our rubbish chutes and waste disposal system."
Calling for a stronger emphasis on reduction rather than recycling, Mr Ng urged the Government to "walk the talk and lead by example" by encouraging ministries and agencies to eliminate single-use plastics from their catering and events.
Using reusable items with only minimal packaging for next year's National Day Parade (NDP), for instance, is one way this can be done, suggested Mr Ng.
"This year’s NDP fun pack contained many plastic items individually wrapped in plastic, and even an NDP 2018 plastic bag for each person to bag their waste," he said.
"If NDP 2019 were to use only reusable items with minimal packaging, it would send a strong signal that our nation is committed to building a sustainable world for all Singaporeans."
ONE OF MINISTRY'S KEY PRIORITIES
In her response to Mr Ng's speech, Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said that managing plastics and packaging waste is one of the "key priorities" for her ministry.
"My ministry believes the long-term approach is to engage Singaporeans on the importance of sustainability," said Dr Khor.
"Hence, our aim is to build a national consciousness to care for the environment so that Singaporeans and businesses will take action, even beyond what the regulations require.
"This process may take longer. But this is the right way; the positive effects will go beyond plastic bags, beyond packaging, beyond waste management to areas including climate action."
Dr Khor pointed out even as her ministry seeks to reduce plastic usage, it recognises that plastics have their uses.
"Substituting them with other materials may not be more environmentally friendly as some may perceive," she said. "Hence, our approach is to reduce excessive consumption of all types of packaging, including plastics used by businesses and individuals."
Agreeing that the public sector should set the standard, Dr Khor added that her ministry has published a guide to aid agencies in organising environmentally-friendly events.
"I am happy to share that my ministry is definitely taking the lead. We do not serve bottled water for meetings. Our staff bring their own plates and cutlery for events to avoid the use of disposables," she said.
"We are encouraging other public sector agencies to do the same for their meetings and events such as the National Day Parade and community activities to minimise the use of plastics."
In response to Mr Ng's suggestion on the carrier bag charge, she said the ministry will continue to monitor developments.
Source: CNA/mt(ra)
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