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  Straits Times Forum 12 Jul 06
You can't count on Singaporeans to pick up their rubbish
Letter from Chua Beng Khim (Ms)

Straits Times Forum 12 Jul 06
It's everyone's responsibility to protect the environment
Letter from Ho Lih Fang (Mdm)

Straits Times Forum 8 Jul 06
Score a Green Goal for Singapore too
 Letter from Eugene Tay Tse Chuan

AS THE 2006 Fifa World Cup comes to an end, we will remember the important goals scored during the world's biggest sporting event.

One particular goal struck me as the best, which is the Green Goal by host Germany.

The Organising Committee led by Franz Beckenbauer introduced Green Goal - the first environmental initiative at the World Cup to minimise environmental impact, raise environmental awareness, and set standards for other major sporting events.

Targets are set for being climate neutral; refuse avoidance and environmentally-friendly recycling; efficient, environment-conscious transportation; energy efficiency and environmentally-friendly generation; and responsible water management.

Initiatives and projects are implemented with the targets in mind. The 12 stadiums used in the World Cup also have eco-friendly designs and features to reduce resource consumption.

More often than not, major sporting events and other big events create a substantial impact on the environment. It would be good to study the possible impact and try to reduce them, as what the Green Goal initiative achieved.

As Singapore hosts major events in the future, it would be beneficial to the environment and our country's image if we could keep the environment in mind while planning those events.

Let us not only greet the participants with smiles but also show them that we care about the environment.

Straits Times Forum 12 Jul 06
It's everyone's responsibility to protect the environment
Letter from Ho Lih Fang (Mdm)

I refer to the letter ''Score a Green Goal for Singapore too'' by Eugene Tay Tse Chuan (ST Forum, July 8).

May I suggest that we not only keep the environment in mind while planning for major events, we should go green in our daily lives also.

Multinationals, the civil service, big and small businesses, government agencies, schools, supermarket chains and food courts should set targets on environmental awareness and subsequent management.

I would like to mention food courts especially where one can easily observe the wanton waste of plastic bags and disposable chopsticks. At the Takashimaya food court, there are many little snack outlets selling teriyaki chicken, octopus balls, popiah. The food bought from these stalls are packed in plastic bags. Customers take these plastic bags of food to tables just a few feet away and the plastic bags are discarded shortly.

I have brought this wasteful practice to the attention of the National Environment Agency and Takashimaya. They told me that they would get the stalls to ask the customers whether they needed plastic bags or trays. But I am still getting food without being asked for my packaging preference.

The supermarkets are also another place where much can be done to educate staff members and consumers.

For example, cashiers at Cold Storage use a plastic bag as a glove to pack pork into plastic carriers and then throw the ''glove'' into the bin.

Straits Times Forum 12 Jul 06
You can't count on Singaporeans to pick up their rubbish
Letter from Chua Beng Khim (Ms)

I was at the National Day Parade family day celebration last week at Kallang Stadium. What touched me most was the song Count On Me, Singapore.

The ugly and sad part was at the end of the show when I saw rubbish left behind all over the place - plastic bags, empty bottles and cans, candy wrappers, tissue paper, etc. Imagine how much time the cleaners would take to clean up the stadium.

But if we had done our part and removed our own rubbish, that would have been wonderful. Let us all do our part so that Singapore can really count on us.
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