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Straits Times, 6 Jun 05 Less rubbish, but little recycling here Figures show Germans recycle at least 12 times as much rubbish By Radha Basu HOUSEHOLDS here produce less rubbish than in the West, but they lag far behind when it comes to recycling. For every tonne of rubbish Singaporeans recycle, an equivalent number of Germans or Australians would recycle at least 12, according to figures from the three public waste collectors. ONE in three Singaporeans recycle their rubbish by either saving it for the fortnightly door-to-door collection or putting it in recycling bins, a survey on household recycling habits found. Another third of the respondents said they throw it all down rubbish chutes, while the rest said they sold 'some' to karung guni men and threw away the rest. The survey, conducted by the Marketing and Planning Department of Singapore Press Holdings in April, interviewed about 500 people aged 15 and above. About 80 per cent of those polled lived in Housing Board flats, the rest in private property. More than 80 per cent of respondents said financial rewards - such as a reduction in conservancy fees - would encourage them to recycle more. But statistics also show Singaporeans produce about half as much rubbish as people in those countries. The low rate of recycling was confirmed by a recent Singapore Press Holdings survey which found that only one in three households saved recyclable rubbish for collection or placed it in neighbourhood recycling bins Recycling is crucial if the mountains of rubbish generated by increasingly consumerist societies are to be reduced. In 2001, the National Environment Agency began the National Recycling Programme, under which waste collection companies collect recyclables from factories and homes once a fortnight. While the number of homes participating is high, the volume of material collected is still low, compared to rates abroad, going by data from the three rubbish companies here - Altvater Jakob, FME Onyx and SembWaste. Each Singaporean sends about 500g of waste for recycling every month under the programme. In Germany, each person recycles about 6kg of packaging material alone every month. People there are required to recycle this by law. Each Australian in Brisbane, on the other hand, offers about 6kg of all types of recyclables every month. However, the National Environment Agency says the low volumes it sees need not mean that Singaporeans are poor at recycling. Its programme, it acknowledged, is not the only avenue for recycling. Many recyclable materials are sold to karung guni men. Nevertheless, the agency is working with environment and community groups, schools and waste collectors to 'raise awareness levels on the importance and need for recycling', it said. But, while crucial, education alone may not solve the problem. The managing director of waste collector Altvater Jakob, Mr Klaus-Dieter Pohl, is keen to develop infrastructure that will make the practice sustainable. His company has placed recycling bins in more than 30 locations in Housing Board estates in Jurong, Bedok, Pasir Ris and Tampines. 'Those who don't want to wait two weeks for our waste collectors to visit their homes can now drop their recyclables off at bins in their blocks whenever they choose,' said Mr Pohl. He is recycling the idea from Germany, where such bin centres are common. With World Environment Day being marked around the globe yesterday, MP Amy Khor, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee on National Development and Environment, told The Straits Times: 'There's admittedly much more that needs to be done to make recycling, environmental conservation and protection part of the Singaporean' psyche.' Recycling enthusiasts such as Ms Mabel D'Cruz believe that Singaporean recycling rates are low because people are unaware of the benefits. The 46-year-old language teacher says very few residents in her Bedok block put out bags for collection every other Friday. 'I usually see the plastic bags given by our waste collector flying around in our corridors,' said Ms D'Cruz, who picked up her recycling habit while living in America. 'How can you ask people to recycle if they don't understand the nature of recycling?' she asked. links Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues |
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