Biodiversity Beach Patrols: training registration opens 4 Feb (Sun)
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
4 Feb: Registration opens for Sisters Islands Intertidal walks in Mar 2018
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
Feb 2018 sampling events for NUS–NParks Marine Debris Monitoring Programme
News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
R.U.M. Scientific Workshop Day 2
Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative
Today Online 2 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE — Flash floods may hit low-lying coastal areas in eastern Singapore again on Saturday (Feb 3) if heavy rain coincides with unusually high tides, said the PUB in an advisory on Friday (Feb 2).
PUB’s comments comes after a high tide of 3.44m occurred around noon on Friday in eastern Singapore. It subsided after an hour.
The high tide resulted in seawater flowing inland through the roadside drain onto the junction of Amber Road and Mountbatten Road.
“(On Saturday), another high tide of 3.4m is expected to set in again at 12.45pm,” said the PUB. Tide levels of 3m and above are considered to be higher than normal.
“During the high tide periods, canals and drains which lead to the sea and are therefore influenced by tides, will see high water levels,” added the PUB. “Seawater may also overflow from the drains and flood the roads.
In the event of heavy rain coinciding with the high tides, flash floods may occur in the low-lying coastal areas such as Jalan Seaview, Meyer Road, Fort Road and Tanjong Rhu.
On Friday, PUB officers were on standby at the site in case they had to clear any chokages in drains, as well as warn drivers and pedestrians not to drive into or enter flooded areas.
“We advise the public to exercise care should flash floods occur, and avoid stepping into or driving into any flooded areas,” said the PUB.
Audrey Tan Straits Times 2 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE - Three juvenile blacktip reef sharks, which were kept in an aquarium of a dental clinic in Tanjong Pagar, have been moved to an open sea pen in a fish farm in the Johor Strait.
When The Straits Times visited the Braces & Implant Dental Centre in Tras Street at about 9am on Friday (Feb 2), staff from fish farm, OnHand Agrarian, were preparing for the move.
A plastic sheet was spread out on the clinic's carpeted floor to prevent it from getting wet and a blue tank for the transport of the sharks was being filled with water.
A dental clinic staff member said the clinic would replace the sharks with reef fish.
The move comes after the sharks were spotted in the tank in December by a Ms Linda Leong, who took a video and uploaded it on Facebook.
The video prompted Netizens and marine conservationists, led by underwater photographer Michael Aw, to voice their concern about the welfare of the animals and ask for them to be moved to a bigger facility.
The sharks now measure about an arm's length but will grow to between 1.6m and 2.9m once they hit adulthood.
While it is not illegal to keep the sharks in a tank, conservationists worry that the small space may constrict the growth of these animals.
Dr Jimmy Gian, owner of the dental clinic, said in December that he had purchased the sharks with the intention of releasing the animals when they grew beyond 0.6m, as the tank could not accommodate adult sharks anyway.
He added that the objective of the aquarium was to show the public "the beautiful side of sharks" and to change the perception that sharks are fearsome.
Blacktip reef sharks can be found in Singapore's waters although mainly in the coral reefs in the Singapore Straits.
Black tip reef sharks being prepared for transfer to Johor Strait fish farm
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum ichthyologist (fish expert) Tan Heok Hui said: "Blacktip reef sharks, as the name alludes, occur mainly in coral reef habitats. The Johor Strait has less salinity than Singapore Strait, due to large freshwater inputs."
Dr Tan added that sharks typically fare better in saline habitats compared to the estuarine conditions of Singapore's northern waters.
He also noted that sharks are better off in the wild if they are not fished.
Black tip reef shark being transferred into tank
Mr Shannon Lim, 32, owner of OnHand Agrarian, said he has seen other species of sharks in the Johor Strait, such as nurse sharks, and is confident the blacktips will do well there.
There are no plans to release the sharks into the wild, as the sharks come from Indonesia, he said, and it would not be ideal to mix them with native sharks.
“We have suggested that the clinic rear estuarine fish that are less wide-ranging, such as seahorses and seagrass file fish. These species are more confined to a smaller area.”
mohd farhaan shah The Star 2 Feb 18;
JOHOR BARU: Work on the Johor Elephant Sanctuary (JES) in Kota Tinggi is 45% complete and the first phase is expected to finish by August this year.
Johor health, environment, education and information committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the RM15mil sanctuary was being built to address the conflict between wild elephants and humans in Kluang and Kota Tinggi.
He said JES was an urgent requirement following the encroachment of wild elephants in villages there and would give priority to aggressive elephants that were damaging surrounding plantations.
Ayub added that through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) records, there were 70 wild elephants roaming Johor’s forests where 45 of them were deemed problematic.
“The difficult ones will be brought to JES for training before they are released into the forest,” he said.
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Johor chairman Vincent Chow said JES could not permanently solve the conflict between elephants and humans, but more studies should be done to find a better solution.
“Elephants are wandering animals and they will move from one forest to another.
“The problem is humans have been slowly encroaching into the elephants’ traditional path via development or plantations.
“It is not the elephants’ fault because these are their usual routes,” said Chow, adding that no matter how long these wild elephants were trained, they would go back to following instinct when they return to the forest.
“Elephants need bigger territory and the Johor National Park is a good location because it is far away from any human activity.”
He urged the authorities to work together with MNS or other non-governmental organisations to come up with solutions to these problems.
Bernama New Straits Times 2 Feb 18;
GERIK: A man was seriously injured after he was trampled by an elephant at Km 19, of the Gerik-Jeli East-West Highway (JRTB), near a memorial monument at the highway yesterday.
Gerik police chief Supt Ismail Che Isa said in the incident around 4.30pm, the victim, M. Paramanazan, 69, who came from Sungai Siput Utara Perak suffered fractures to his left arm and rib, injuries to the right arm and was also believed to suffer from a broken neck.
“Paramanazan and his son, in his 40s, were travelling to Gerik through the JRTB route. When they reached the memorial, the victim who wanted a close-up view of the elephant got down from the lorry.
“However, he was suddenly chased and trampled by the elephant when he tried to approach the animal,” Ismail said in a statement here tonight.
The son’s victim who was driving the lorry brought him to the Gerik Hospital before he was transferred to the Taiping Hospital for follow-up treatment. -- Bernama
Lorry driver seriously hurt after attack by elephant on East-West Highway
ivan loh The Star 2 Feb 18;
GERIK: A lorry driver was badly injured after being trampled by an elephant near the memorial monument at KM19 of the East-West Highway here.
Gerik OCPD Superintendent Ismail Che Isa said M. Paramanazan, 69, from Sungai Siput Utara, is believed to have suffered a broken left arm, left ribs and injuries to the right arm, following the incident on Thursday (Feb 1) at about 4.30am.
"Paramanazan has been brought to the Taiping Hospital for treatment. He is believed to have broken one of the bones in his neck," he said, adding that no police report was made.
Supt Ismail said according to the victim's son, they were on their way to transport groundnuts to Sg Siput from Kelantan.
"Upon reaching the monument, the victim stopped his lorry and got down to look at an elephant, which was in the vicinity.
"He was then chased and stepped on by the animal.
"The victim's son, who was in the lorry, then brought him to the Gerik Hospital, before being transferred to Taiping," he added.
Michael Taylor Reuters 2 Feb 18;
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An award-winning method for mapping Indonesia’s vast peatlands, developed by Dutch, German and Indonesian scientists, will help the Southeast Asian nation tackle annual fires that harm health in the region, the organizers of the prize said on Friday.
The International Peat Mapping Team (IPMT) will receive $1 million for winning the two-year competition, funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and managed by the U.S.-based World Resources Institute (WRI).
“To be able to manage peat well, we needed to have a map, and the map we had before was not that comprehensive,” said Nirarta Samadhi, director of WRI Indonesia.
Indonesian government agencies, which helped organize the competition, will start using the new methodology as soon as possible, said Supiandi Sabiham, co-chair of the judges.
The IPMT’s approach, which combines satellite imagery, LiDAR technologies and on-the-ground measurement, won for its accuracy, speed and affordability, added Sabiham.
Peat soils contain huge quantities of carbon in the form of organic matter, which accumulates over thousands of years and provides nutrients for plant growth.
Rainforests across Indonesia’s sprawling archipelago contain more than 15 million hectares of peatland - an area twice the size of Ireland - mostly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo and in the easternmost province of Papua.
When peatlands are drained or cleared by fire, often to make way for oil palm plantations or farming, the carbon is released into the atmosphere where it traps heat, contributing to climate change.
Peaty soil is particularly flammable when dry, often causing fires to spread beyond their intended areas.
Each year smoke from fires used to clear land for agricultural expansion in Indonesia clouds the skies over large parts of Southeast Asia, raising concerns about public health.
Peat fires in 2015 were estimated to have caused up to 100,000 premature deaths, according to the WRI, and cost the Indonesian economy $16.5 billion, or nearly 2 percent of gross domestic product.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo set up an agency in 2016 to restore about 2 million hectares of damaged peatland, and imposed a moratorium on new concessions for oil palm.
The IPMT methodology will enable the Indonesian authorities to better manage peatlands, and help them create canals and wetting systems to protect peat in the dry season, WRI’s Samadhi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Open to students, engineers, consultants, scientists, companies and universities, the competition attracted 44 applicants from 10 countries.
Bambang Setiadi, a scientist in the IPMT team, said the prize money would be used to fund further research into peatlands, as well as scholarships for Indonesian students to attend German universities.
Reporting by Michael Taylor, Editing by Megan Rowling; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org
Kathryn Curzon Jakarta Post 2 Feb 18;
While the Earth has only warmed around 0.74 degrees Celsius over the last 100 years, this small temperature increase is affecting ocean ecosystems and could impact upon the global marine tourism industry.
Coral reef tourism has a global value of US$36 billion per year, according to a scientific study mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism. This study, published in the Marine Policy journal in August 2017, concluded that 30 percent of the world’s reefs are valuable to tourism.
Indonesia has a thriving coral reef tourism industry and also has the second largest manta ray tourism industry in the world, with an annual value of over $15 million.
While coral bleaching events and ocean acidification are well-documented effects of climate change, there are other stressors upon coral reefs that could undermine these valuable tourism industries.
Sea level rises, leading to coastal erosion, plus stronger and more frequent storms typical of the current climate, smother and destroy coral reef structures. Heavy rainfall cause land-based pollutants and nutrients to wash into the ocean, resulting in algal blooms and a reduction in available light at reefs. Changing ocean currents also affect reefs, by altering the connectivity of geographically distant reefs and water temperature profiles. These changes can lead to a lack of food sources and interrupt reef species’ ability to breed.
If left unchecked, these complex effects could reduce the value of marine tourism significantly as the quality of world-class Indonesian dive sites and idyllic tourism destinations deteriorate.
Thankfully a new global partnership to conserve the ocean, announced at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Jan. 25, should help address this. This new partnership, Friends of Ocean Action, will consist of leaders in science, technology, business and non-governmental groups aiming to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.
Individuals can also do their part to minimize the effects of climate change by reducing their carbon footprint. Measures such as driving less, reducing waste and purchasing energy efficient appliances or light bulbs are easy ways to help. Indonesia’s coral reefs can be protected with simple measures such as using fewer garden chemicals that may run-off into the ocean, choosing sustainable seafood and practicing good reef etiquette.
For those looking to experience and support the marine tourism industry of Indonesia, there are 11,000 uninhabited islands and a wealth of world-class dive sites to choose from. Visitors can support national marine parks directly by choosing responsible tourism operators and ensuring they pay their park fees. Marine park fees are crucial for minimizing the human impact on marine parks, including by providing local subsidies to preserve the reefs and by educating locals and tourists about reef conservation.
Komodo National Park
The Komodo National Park, within the Lesser Sunda Islands, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and covers an area of over 1,700 square kilometers. It has been selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature and its waters are rich with reef life and numerous fish species.
The park contains many small islands, providing a wide variety of dive sites, and water visibility of up to 30 meters.
It is a diver’s paradise of healthy reefs and currents that attract mantas, hammerheads, dolphins and mola mola. It is also a perfect destination for a cruise.
Raja Ampat Islands
Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago of over 1,500 small islands and shoals just off the northwest tip of New Guinea.
It contains the Misool Marine Reserve and Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It was declared the most biodiverse place in the world in 2002 and contains more than 500 coral species.
There are plenty of shark species, mantas, turtles and reef dives to enjoy at Raja Ampat and it is best accessed on an Indonesian liveaboard.
Wakatobi
Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi is a group of four remote islands in the Banda Sea and is a UNESCO Marine Biosphere Reserve that covers 13,900 sq km. It has been managed successfully as a reserve and, as a result, offers an exceptionally clear underwater environment.
New reefs have formed upon fossilized reefs and the lack of soil erosion provides visibility of up to a depth of 60 m. The fish and coral life are diverse and visitors can see pilot whales from November to March.
Bunaken National Park
Divers visiting Bunaken, in the Sulawesi Sea, can experience 70 percent of all fish species found in the Indo-Western Pacific Ocean. This marine national park has been so successful that many marine parks around the globe model their operations on those at Bunaken.
Five of the seven sea turtle species can be seen there, including the endangered green sea turtle. Dugong sightings are not rare and sperm whales are seasonal visitors in July and August.
It is one of the most diverse sites on Earth along with Raja Ampat.
Gili Islands
The three Gili Islands north of Lombok are well-known for their secluded beaches and healthy reefs. Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air are all within the Gili Matra Marine Natural Recreation Park. Motorized transport is not permitted on the islands and the pristine reefs are supported by mangrove forests.
The reefs have numerous shallow dives, suitable for experienced and beginners, and are home to a variety of colorful hard and soft corals. Reef sharks and manta rays can be enjoyed where the islands disappear into deep waters. (kes)
***
The writer is a diver and writer for Liveaboard.com.
Hong Kong has the second largest per capita consumption of seafood in Asia, at more than three times the global average
South China Morning Post 1 Feb 18;
Environmentalists and academics warned the city, known as a “food paradise”, will fail to create a sustainable trade chain and marine environment if it continues its current trading and eating pattern.
The green activists also criticised the government for its “outdated” regulations on the trade of live reef fish, which allow for their import and export.
The study, which compiled data from the past two decades to shed light on the dark side of the trade, was jointly released by the University of Hong Kong’s Swire Institute of Marine Sciences, ADM Capital Foundation and the WWF Coral Triangle Programme on Thursday, around two weeks ahead of the Lunar New Year.
The festival falls on February 16 this year, and eating fresh seafood is part of the Chinese culinary tradition.
“The rate at which we are taking reef fish from our ocean, including juveniles, is simply not sustainable,” said Dr Yvonne Sadovy, a professor of biological science at HKU.
Fish being sold at Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market. Photo: Nora Tam
The most recent figures from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations showed Hong Kong had the second largest per capita consumption of seafood in Asia at 60kg, three times the world average.
The study found that between 20,000 and 30,000 metric tonnes of live reef fish were traded legally in Hong Kong each year, with a total value more than US$1 billion. The trade supplied mostly grouper and wrasse species, such as Napoleon fish, which can fetch as much as US$600 per kilo.
Waiter, there’s catfish in my grouper: Hong Kong customs struggles to fight false advertising
But the volume of imported trade could be underestimated by “as much as 50 per cent”, due to “inadequacies monitoring protocols and deliberate misreporting”, the study said. Such estimations were based on information from traders and organisations in other regions.
Sadovy added it was critical Hong Kong took steps to regulate before it is too late, adding popular wild-caught reef fish “could be gone in the next couple of decades”.
“We are not talking about not eating fish at all. What we are talking about is not eating so many wild fish that we destroy their populations,” she said.
A seller nets a Sabah grouper at North Point Ferry Pier seafood market. Photo: May Tse
“Traders, transport and logistics carriers are allowed to exploit a vacuum created by the inadequate and outdated regulations, loopholes in the law and lax enforcement of live seafood trade into, within and through Hong Kong,” said Geoffrey Muldoon, senior manager of the WWF Coral Triangle Programme.
One in 10 grouper species face extinction, with most eaten in Hong Kong
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau on Wednesday said importing and exporting live marine fish was allowed in Hong Kong, unless the fish were listed under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance.
Several grouper species, however, are considered “threatened” or “near threatened”, as opposed to “endangered”, according to the IUCN Red List, a global conservation status of plant and animal species.
R.U.M. Scientific Workshop Day 1
Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative
Busy January at the Marine Park!
Sisters' Island Marine Park
Today Online 1 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE – Dress lightly, but keep a compact umbrella at hand when you head out. The first half of February is expected to be warm and dry, with a few wet weather days.
Temperatures could go as high as 34°C, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said in a weather update on Thursday (Feb 1).
While the prevailing North-east Monsoon is expected to continue, the first half of February is forecast to be "relatively dry with some warm days", the MSS added.
Still, short-duration thundery showers are expected in the afternoon on three to five days, though the rainfall for this period of the month is expected to be "below normal".
The MSS also advises the public to expect windy conditions with passing showers and cooler temperatures across the island on a few days. These conditions are brought about by a weak monsoon surge which the MSS says could affect the South China Sea and the surrounding region in the early part of the month.
Reviewing the weather pattern for the month of January, the MSS said it was an "eventful month for Singapore's weather".
The first week of January saw moderate to heavy thundery showers from three different weather systems –localised thunderstorms, Sumatra squalls and monsoon surges.
In the last week of the month, hailstones and a waterspout were observed on Jan 30 and 31 respectively.
The flash floods that occurred in several places in Singapore on Jan 8 were caused by a Sumatra squall which brought widespread thundery showers, with the eastern part of the island receiving the heaviest rainfall. The highest total daily rainfall recorded was 131.8mm in the Paya Lebar area, said the MSS.
The agency said that the unusually cool weather in the early parts of the month were caused by monsoon surge from Jan 10 to 14, which brought five consecutive days of cool weather. Temperatures dipped to as low as 21.2°C, which was recorded on Jan 14 at Admiralty and Jurong West.
"This was the longest cool spell in Singapore in the last 10 years," said the MSS. The highest temperature recorded for the month was 34.9°C.
The last two days of January saw intense thunderstorms which brought heavy rainfall with strong winds over many areas of the island. The MSS said hailstones were observed in parts of northern Singapore, "including Seletar and Yishun" on Jan 30. The following day saw not only fierce winds, but a waterspout off the east coast of Singapore.
The MSS said Singapore received "well above normal rainfall" for January. The highest rainfall of 502.4mm (119 per cent above average) was recorded at Paya Lebar. Rainfall was lowest around the Changi area where 272.6mm (16 per cent above average) was recorded.
LOUISA TANG Today Online 1 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE — In a bid to encourage recycling and reduce electronic waste (e-waste) here, the Government will make it mandatory for producers and importers of electronic products to collect and recycle a certain amount of e-waste from consumers.
These companies will have to meet collection targets and be subjected to an incentive or tax system, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli at a pre-Budget consultation session on Thursday (Feb 1). The e-waste targets will vary according to how much electronic goods they sell here, and they will have to recycle or dispose the waste properly.
More details on the collection targets and when the laws will be implemented will be revealed after the Budget on Feb 19, said Mr Masagos. “It will be a soft target for a start,” he added.
Companies that do not meet the target could be subject to a levy or a fine. But Mr Masagos said: “We don’t see this coming in early in the process… certainly, the experience all over the world shows that as we ratchet up the targets, many manufacturers start to also get the aggregation process right, and I’m sure this will then lead to what we aspire to.”
The move, which is known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach, is in line with the practice adopted by countries such as South Korea and Sweden, where 52 per cent of e-waste gets recycled. More than 60 countries have also implemented some form of e-waste legislation.
Before this, most of Singapore’s e-waste recycling efforts centred on raising public awareness and encouraging participation in voluntary recycling programmes.
The idea was first mooted about two weeks ago, when the National Environment Agency revealed that only six per cent of an estimated 30,000 tonnes of e-waste thrown out by households is recycled. On average, each Singaporean generates 11kg of e-waste every year, the equivalent of 73 mobile phones.
Ms Janet Neo, head of corporate sustainability at document processing giant Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific, said collection targets need to be clearly laid out for producers, and they may be difficult to achieve given the logistical challenges.
Fuji Xerox, which also produces commercial and home printers, has had an e-waste recycling scheme in place since 1995. Service engineers pick up unwanted or discarded printers from the consumers free-of-charge, and they are then sent to the company’s eco-manufacturing centre to be recycled or remanufactured.
Ms Neo told TODAY: “The moment consumer products go to retailers and consumers, you can’t track them... How much we can do, we also don’t know, so we need some level of baseline to understand what is even realistic to put as a target, because it has never been done before.”
While Apple declined comment on the announcement, the technology firm stated in their Environmental Responsibility Report 2017 that they are encouraging more consumers to recycle their old devices through the Apple Renew programme. Consumers can bring their devices in to any Apple store or ship them to Apple, which will either refurbish the device for resale or recycle its materials.
Aside from regulations, concerns about consumer behaviour and the current recycling infrastructure were also raised at the consultation session, which involved 37 participants from more than 20 organisations.
Ms Ng Wai Sen from non-government group, Journey to Zero Waste Life, said that “waste is about convenience”, and that Singaporeans need to change their mindset that “new means good”.
She suggested that more people repair their electronic devices rather than discard them when they do not work anymore. To reduce consumerism, educators and the Ministry of Education could also work with primary school children to change mindsets from a young age, added Ms Ng.
Participants in the session also pointed out that infrastructure could be improved, such as installing more e-waste recycling bins and improving the security and design of the bins.
Temasek Polytechnic student Ernst Kwok, a member of the school’s Green Interest Group, said that there have been instances of people trying to break into their bins to steal the electronic goods.
“There is also an issue with accessibility. We initially only installed one bin at the engineering school, but it was in a secluded area,” he said.
“Now we have three bins and within half a month or a month, they will be full.”
Government proposes to regulate e-waste reduction
Deborah Wong Channel NewsAsia 1 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE: Manufacturers and retailers of electronic goods will soon need to take responsibility for the disposal and recycling of their products as the government intends to introduce regulations to reduce electronic waste.
During a pre-Budget consultation session with stakeholders on Thursday (Feb 1), Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said the government will adopt the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach.
"This means we have a target for the original producers to look at what they can do to retrieve this e-waste that is produced in the first place," said Mr Masagos.
"Put a target, either through an incentive or a tax system, to make sure this is something they can do effectively.”
Mr Masagos said this is a timely move as the improper disposal of e-waste releases toxic chemicals into the environment.
Singaporeans generate 60,000 tonnes of e-waste yearly, and this figure is expected to rise as the country moves towards a digitised future.
EPR isn't a new concept and Mr Masagos said Singapore has to catch up.
He cited an example in Denmark, where the implementation of the EPR framework in 2014 produced a collection rate of 76 per cent of e-waste.
For other countries in the European Union, recyclers are subjected to targets and 80 per cent of large household appliances and 70 per cent of communication technology (ICT) equipment must be recycled.
Manufacturers, retailers and recyclers must also submit regular e-waste reports to authorities.
But Mr Masagos acknowledges that getting stakeholders in Singapore to come on board is not an easy process.
The government will start by setting smaller e-waste collection targets.
“We will take into consideration that it is new, so we will slowly bring it up. Once the system gets better oiled, it will be more successful,” he said.
LOCAL EFFORTS TO RECYCLE E-WASTE
Some local telecommunication companies like Singtel and Starhub have collection points for customers to return old devices while Fuji Xerox has collected used appliances from clients as far back as 1995.
Ms Janet Neo, head of corporate sustainability at Fuji Xerox said that the company has appointed one employee to be a full-time green evangelist, to educate clients on sustainability.
“We realise that in the office, the only person who knows that the product is recyclable is the office manager. So we have appointed one colleague to be a full-time green evangelist to help customers in office management become greener, smarter."
Ms Neo said the company has achieved a recycling rate of 99.9 per cent, as the components used in the products are mostly recyclable.
She was one of the 37 stakeholders present during the consultation session.
Besides revamping corporate practices, participants also said that consumers must change their lifestyle habits, such as repairing products where possible, to minimise wastage.
"Some of the difficulties we face are when people don't want to repair broken products and when people buy new things for the sake of buying,” said Ms Sari Atiqa Ramli, project lead at Sustainable Living Lab.
The social enterprise runs Repair Kopitiam, a community initiative that teaches people how to repair broken appliances to minimise e-waste.
"The things that people throw out are actually in good condition. I would suggest that they give it to someone who needs it more, or even consider using it again till it can't be used anymore," Ms Atiqa added.
If products cannot be repaired, the government is considering involving rag-and-bone men in the e-waste collection process by teaching them proper disposal and recycling methods.
Source: CNA/ad
Regulations will be introduced to ensure e-waste is recycled: Masagos
Samantha Boh Straits Times 1 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE - The Government will introduce regulations to ensure that electrical and electronics items are reused and recycled properly, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Thursday (Feb 1).
The Republic will adopt the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach, where producers and importers of electronic goods will be required to collect the electronic goods they sell in Singapore and recycle them properly. If the goods cannot be recycled, they will have to be disposed of safely.
Producers will have to meet collection targets and tax incentives could be introduced to encourage them in their green efforts.
The implementation date and requirements of the recycling regime will be announced later.
The Extended Producer Responsibility approach has been adopted in countries such as Sweden, which recycles 52 per cent of its e-waste, and Denmark, which has a recycling rate of 43 per cent.
There, large producers have to provide collection points at their stores and provide one-for-one take back services. They are required to meet collection targets set by the government.
"We will start with a soft target," said Mr Masagos.
Singapore produces 60,000 tonnes of e-waste a year. According to a National Environment Agency's recent survey of 1,600 consumers, only a tiny portion of household e-waste - just 6 per cent - is sent for recycling.
Mr Masagos added that the ministry plans to involve the informal waste sector in recycling efforts. This could include teaching scrap dealers and rag-and-bone men how to recycle e-waste properly or involving them in the collection process.
While legislation will provide a more structured system for e-waste to be collected and recycled, there is a need to improve the physical collection infrastructure and to change consumer behaviour.
At a pre-Budget consultation session on e-waste on Thursday, organised by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources ahead of the Budget on Feb 19, participants said more e-waste collection bins should be placed in neighbourhoods.
"It needs to be almost as easy as getting rid of general waste," said Mr Ashley Tan, 32, a consultant at Deloitte.
He was among 37 participants from more than 20 organisations, including non-governmental organisations and academics, who were at the consultation, which was also attended by Mr Masagos.
Ms Ng Wai Sen, 44, from NGO Journey to Zero Waste Life, said: "We need to change the mindset that new means good."
She said more people can also do their part by trying to repair their electronic devices when the devices break down instead of buying new ones.
Mr Juergen Militz, secretary of the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore, suggested that Singapore takes a leaf out of other countries' book and get manufacturers and importers pay a small fee that will go into a recycling fund.
While recycling companies can profit from recycling laptops and mobile phone as they can extract and then sell the precious metals found in the devices, refrigerators command a negative value as it is costly to dispose of the chemicals in refrigerants.
"If done properly, a balance can be achieved," he said.
FARIS MOKHTAR Today Online 1 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE — Back in 2001, the authorities embarked on a push for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to ply Singapore’s roads. But less than two decades later, such vehicles are a rare sight on the island despite some promising signs initially.
A lack of infrastructural support as well as the cost ineffectiveness of CNG vehicles following the removal of government rebates are key factors for the dwindling numbers, said industry players and experts.
Explaining the removal of the Green Vehicle Rebate scheme in 2013, a National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesperson told TODAY that its replacement, the Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS), “encourages the take-up of fuel-efficient cars based on carbon dioxide emissions rather than prescribed vehicle technologies”. The CEVS was in turn replaced at the start of this year by the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES), which takes into account four more pollutants apart from carbon dioxide — nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
“The change further encourages buyers to choose models that have lower emissions across all five pollutants to improve ambient air quality as well,” said the NEA spokesperson.
As of last December, the CNG private car population has gone down by close to two-thirds to about 1,000, compared to the peak of 2,706 in 2010, based on figures from the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Over the same period, the number of CNG buses has also dropped by more than half from 44 to 12.
When it comes to CNG taxis, the decline was even more drastic: From 2,836 in 2011 to zero this year. Earlier this week, The Straits Times reported that the last CNG taxi – owned by Trans-Cab – has been scrapped.
THE UPS AND DOWNS
Singapore’s earlier push for CNG vehicles could be traced back to 2001, when then-Acting Environment Minister Lim Swee Say said his ministry placed such vehicles “high on our priority list” because they emit almost no particulate matter, very little carbon monoxide, and 20 to 30 per cent less carbon dioxide, compared to petrol or diesel vehicles. “In other words, a natural gas vehicle is cleaner than a hybrid vehicle. It is more implementable, compared to the electric vehicle. At the same time, it is safer than an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) vehicle,” Mr Lim had said.
The following year, test drives for CNG public buses and taxis commenced, and these later took to the roads officially, followed by private CNG cars.
But CNG vehicles come with a higher price tag, pointed out assistant professor Lynette Cheah from the Singapore University of Technology and Design’s engineering systems and design faculty. This is mainly due to the additional cost of installing the fuel tank system, she added.
To incentivise the switch to green vehicles, the Green Vehicle Rebate scheme was enhanced in 2005, four years after it was first introduced. Under the enhanced scheme, cuts in the Additional Registration Fee for CNG vehicles were doubled from the original 20 per cent to 40 per cent, lowering the overall price of such vehicles.
The scheme was in place till 2012, before it was replaced by the CEVS. As a result, prices of CNG cars cost between S$3,000 and S$7,000 more than petrol cars, said sales manager of Jack Cars Enterprise Michael Tan. The higher prices caused the popularity of CNG vehicles to nosedive, said asst prof Cheah. “In general, rebates and subsidies can support the transition to alternative vehicle technologies and fuels. However, it is not sustainable for any government to offer them in the long run,” she added.
‘EXPENSIVE, TROUBLESOME’
In Singapore, CNG is taxed at S$0.20 per kg while there is a S$0.41 per litre levy on petrol. The pump price of CNG is about S$2.15 per kg currently. In comparison, diesel costs about S$1.66 per litre while motorists pay about S$2.25 per litre for 95-octane petrol.
Adding to the woes of CNG vehicle owners are the higher maintenance costs. Such vehicles often experience wear and tear quicker as they run at a very high temperature, said deputy general manager of Prime Taxi Neo Chee Yong.
“It just does not make sense to own a CNG vehicle anymore. There’s no incentive to do so if the prices are higher than petrol cars,” said Mr Neo.
Prime Taxi used to own some 100 CNG taxis, which it first introduced in August 2007. The taxis, which are bi-fuel, stopped using CNG and ran on petrol in 2012.
Yong Lee Seng Motor director Raymond Tang reiterated that the government’s removal of its rebates exacerbated the demise of CNG vehicles here, which failed to catch on among motorists because of the lack of refuelling stations.
Since the first CNG pump station was established in Jurong Island in 2002, the figure grew to five in 2009. But there are currently only three remaining — in Mandai, Serangoon North and Toh Tuck Road.
A Trans-Cab taxi driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Kamal, said that back when he was driving a CNG cab in 2010, pumping gas was a hassle as he could only go to a few places. In addition, there would also be a long queue of other taxis waiting to refuel. “If I’m in Tampines for example, it’s a long journey to go to Serangoon to pump gas. And sometimes I have to wait for about an hour at the station for my turn. I could have earned money from at least two rides during that waiting time,” said Mr Kamal, who now drives a Chevrolet Trans-Cab vehicle.
Similarly, startup founder Felix Ng, who bought his CNG-run Chevrolet Optra Magnum in 2013, lamented the hassle of driving to the refuelling stations scattered across the island. His car will be scrapped in April, and he is swearing off CNG cars. Compared to driving a car which runs on petrol, Mr Ng said that he saves about S$30 to S$40 each time he refuels but the hassle outweighs the savings. “Plus, I think CNG vehicles are a waste of time because they have a shorter driving range and you have to top up the gas every now and then,” he added.
On whether the government could have provided more infrastructural support, the NEA spokesperson noted that it co-funded the establishment of three CNG stations, which “facilitated the initial development of CNG refuelling infrastructure by the private sector”.
Around the world, the CNG vehicle market is still thriving in countries such as China, India and Pakistan. This is due to the “favourable local government incentives or policies, and availability of refuelling stations”, said Dr Cheah.
While the plight of CNG vehicles in Singapore could be attributed to a confluence of factors, Prem Roy Motoring director Roy Lim felt that the government should provide more incentives if it wants green vehicles to take off.
He cited the example of the tax surcharge imposed on those who want to bring in the Tesla electric car. “We’re the only country taxing its people for using green vehicles instead of giving rebates,” said Mr Lim. “I think the current system is just confusing and it sends a confusing message to Singaporeans.”
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) had explained in 2016 that electric cars are not “carbon emissions-free”. Then, Mr Joe Nguyen, who bought a second-hand Tesla Model S, was hit with a S$15,000 emissions surcharge. LTA had also pointed out that had the car been brand new, it would have earned a rebate.
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