The Dangers of Waste in Singapore

Singapore is a tropical island state covering 734.3 km2 with a population density of 8,058 persons per km2. Known as the clean ‘Garden City’, it seems that we would be the most environment friendly. But the truth is that our waste on food and disposables is huge. In 2020, the National Environment Agency (NEA) reported that 200,000 tonnes of disposable waste consisted of single-use items like waste bags and takeaway containers.

Rheya with Robin Rheaume, founder of Recylopedia.sg.

Robin Rheaume, the founder of Recyclopedia.sg educates and encourages people to minimise their household waste. She says, “Just the way one size does not fit all, the same way every country’s problem and solution is unique. To do it right one needs to first learn about local resources, recycling and existing waste management system.” She explains, “In Singapore, all non- recyclable waste is incinerated (burnt) in the Waste-To-Energy plants. These ‘plants’ are huge machines converting waste to ‘bottom ash’ and generating electricity. While plastic burns to ash, the leftover consists of unburnt materials like metal and glass, which is sent to Pulau Semakau, Singapore’s offshore landfill.”

In Singapore, single-use plastic is preferable to glass, due to its lower carbon-footprint.

Single-use plastic is preferred to glass

In Singapore, the temperatures of incinerators are high enough to burn plastic but not glass. With high transport cost and low recycling, glass waste ends up dumped in Semakau. Robin adds, “Plastic is not the right choice in many places. In Singapore, plastic makes sense for single-use disposables as it has a much lower carbon-footprint than glass.”

The Organisaton for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED) reports that 90% of plastic emissions happen during production. 

Excess plastic is a problem

Today plastic is everywhere. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states that 90% of plastic emissions happen during production. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), such harmful gases lead to climate change affecting ecosystems and health. Singapore, being low lying, faces risks like heavy rains, rise in sea levels, super-hot days and dry lands.

To help, NEA’s Zero Waste initiatives state to should buy less, recycle more and throw away less. Educating households and businesses on reducing waste and innovative ways to promote recycling can help in making Singapore a Zero Waste Nation.