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also below The Straits Times Forum, 25 Jun 05 Reduce, reuse, recycle waste the way to go Reply to letter by Jay Kaelash The Straits Times Forum, 18 Jun 05 Try 'greener' methods of waste management Letter by Jay Kaelash AS A concerned citizen, I applaud your paper's timely coverage of the world's worsening environmental problems. I refer especially to two of these reports: A Thinking Aloud column by Mr Warren Fernandez, 'Going beyond 'don't know, don't care' in green effort' (ST, June 11), which detailed some great suggestions on how Singapore can act to reduce pollution and raise energy efficiency An article by Ms Radha Basu, 'Less rubbish, but little recycling here' (ST, June 6), which reported the alarming statistics that only one in three households here saves recyclable rubbish for collection or puts it in recycling bins, and that, by comparison, Germans recycle 12 times as much rubbish as Singaporeans. What has gone wrong with our national recycling programme? So far, there have been suggestions to increase public education, reduce the two-week wait before the next door-to-door collection of recyclable rubbish, place more recycling bins in public places and so on. In my reading, I have come across another alternative and would like to share it here. In New South Wales, Australia, the local government has adopted a waste management system that does away with door-to-door or kerbside recycling altogether. However, it still manages to recover reusable resources and ultimately reduce the amount of toxic waste that goes into landfills and incinerators. This technology is explained in an article, 'Tip and run', in the April-June 2005 issue of Australian Geographic. Called UR-3R (Urban Resource - Reduction, Recovery and Recycling), the system is a high-tech mechanical-biological process that can sort recyclable materials on its own and even cut open plastic bags containing rubbish. Roughly, this is how it works: First, a mechanical sorting process recovers recyclable materials such as cardboard, paper, plastic, glass and metal. The remaining waste is heated and decomposed by aerobic bacteria. What is left behind is organic matter which is filtered to remove impurities. The remaining solid waste is further composted and refined for sale. Further in the process, another biological process using anaerobic bacteria cultured from pig manure, yeast and beer waste breaks down the nutrients in the filtered water. This results in the production of methane-rich biogas which is used to power the treatment plant. In fact, there is also surplus power which can be sold to the electricity grid. Altogether, the technology sounds fascinating and worth considering as a measure to complement any existing recycling programme. To use Mr Fernandez's words, the 'don't know, don't care' syndrome is a challenge for policymakers here. I agree with him that it is important to overcome this attitude through the use of creative measures to raise public awareness of environmental issues. At the same time, perhaps it will be useful for policymakers to also consider the use of 'greener' and more efficient recycling and waste-management technology that may already be available out there. Jay Kaelash The Straits Times Forum, 25 Jun 05 Reduce, reuse, recycle waste the way to go Reply to letter by Jay Kaelash WE REFER to the letter, 'Try 'greener' methods of waste management' (ST, June 18). Singapore's key strategies in waste management are to reduce, reuse and recycle waste to curb unsustainable growth in waste. If waste is allowed to increase every year, we would have to set aside more land to build waste-disposal facilities. These facilities are also expensive to build and operate and this is not sustainable. The National Environment Agency (NEA) welcomes new ideas and innovative technologies that would help to reduce waste in the most cost-effective way. We are aware of the UR-3R (Urban Resource - Reduction, Recovery and Recycling) waste-treatment process and have been communicating with the company on details of the process. Notwithstanding what innovative technologies can do to process waste, we need the support of everyone, from individuals to corporate bodies, to minimise waste at source by avoiding waste, reusing things and recycling waste. In the Singapore Green Plan 2012, a target of 60 per cent overall recycling rate by 2012 has been set. Efforts made in the past four years by the 3P (people, public and private) sectors have resulted in an increase in the recycling rate, from 40 per cent in 2000 to 48 per cent in 2004. During this period, there was a corresponding 11 per cent reduction in the waste disposed of. However, more needs to be done to meet the target of 60 per cent recycling rate by 2012. Achieving this target will help us to defer the need to build a new landfill and more incineration plants. We urge readers to join in the national effort to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Ong Seng Eng Head, Resource Conservation Department Low Fong Hon Head Waste Management Department National Environment Agency links Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues |
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