[4/6: What can still be done?] SG's plastic use.
What can still be done?
Singapore has launched a series of campaigns urging the public to care for the environment. In 2018, Singapore launched the Year of Climate Action. Unfortunately, the domestic recycling rate in 2018 saw an insignificant rise of one percent to 22 percent. The following year saw Singapore welcome the Year of Zero Waste and Say Yes to Waste less campaign.
In a survey that I conducted to understand the efficacy of campaigns, 38% of respondents agreed that the government campaigns in 2019, Say Yes to Waste Less and Year of Zero Waste were effective in changing people’s behaviour. Of those that disagreed, here are the most popular suggestions.
Raise awareness of recycling right
With many people not practising recycling correctly, it hampers the recycling process and renders it less effective. In the survey that I conducted, it was found that a mere 53% of respondents wash their recyclables before throwing it away. It is no wonder that a staggering 40% of items in blue bins end up not recycled.
This equates to a waste in resources involved in the transportation of ‘recyclables’, a waste of money as the recycling facilities are damaged more frequently and also a waste in efforts of other people who recycle right.
The top two reasons for failing to do so included inconvenience as well as the misconception that the recycling plant has technology to remove all the bacteria. In addition, MEWR also found that incorrect disposal of items into the bin led to further contamination.
, according to a recent report by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC). In addition, the following quote from the NEA report reinforces Singaporeans’ misunderstandings:
“... a significant proportion mistakenly classified as recyclables, items which should either be disposed of or be treated as reusables. These include contaminants such as soiled paper food packaging, tissue paper and Styrofoam which should be disposed of as general waste; as well as soft toys, bags and shoes which are reusables and not suitable for recycling.”
With recycling being still a relatively new concept to Singaporeans, more awareness about the right items to place in the recycling bin still needs to be raised.
The Recycle Right Citizens’ Workgroup, convened by MEWR, also came up with suggestions to improve recycling awareness. These included a media campaign and spot checks on recycling bins.
MEWR’s efforts of publicizing recycling right on its social media platforms and organizing a #RecycleRight movement is a step in the right direction. However, the effectiveness is “dependent on the public actively seeking such information”, as one survey respondent said. This suggests the need for a compulsory basic level of education for all, meaning tweaks to the educational curriculum.
Compulsory recycling in schools and workplaces
Mandating recycling has the potential to raise greater awareness, as people incorporate recycling as part of their way of life. Researchers from Vanderbilt University found that, “both water bottle deposits and recycling laws foster recycling through a discontinuous effect that converts reluctant recyclers into diligent recyclers” and “policies have their greatest effect among those who would not already choose to recycle.”
A survey by MEWR found that one important motivator for recycling was the feeling that one must match up to other’s recycling efforts. This shows that peer pressure plays a key role in changing one’s behaviour.
This also allows a platform for people to correct their misconceptions about recycling, for example, that recyclables do not need to be washed, or that styrofoam can be recycled.
However, MP Mr Louis Ng pointed out that such a scheme may ingrain in people the idea that recycling is always the answer to Singapore’s waste issues, which may run counter to the core message of reducing on the output in the first place.
Tax on single-use plastic
In October 2018 and again in August 2019, MPs emphasized on the urgent need for a plastic bag tax. Restrictions on plastic bags have already been made in 127 countries, but Singapore has yet to legislate a tax.
Addressing concerns of having no bag for bin lining, MP Mr Louis Ng has pointed out that a plastic bag charge is not a plastic bag ban, and would effectively decrease plastic bag consumption. Dr Amy Khor responded that it might divert businesses to other less eco-friendly alternatives.
However, there has been no evidence that this would be a move taken by most businesses. Besides the Ministry’s efforts at raising awareness of this paradox, many media outlets have also already reported that paper-based packaging is not necessarily being eco-friendly, helping to build greater awareness.
Charging for plastic bags can potentially decrease consumption. In October 2015, shoppers in Britain were charged five pence (about nine Singapore cents) for each single-use plastic bag received. A report by The Guardian showed that the number of plastic bag use then dropped by 85%. Similarly, in Singapore, Japanese lifestyle brand Miniso found that plastic bag use dropped by 75% after a ten cents charge per plastic bag was imposed. Miniso did not switch to other types of single-use bags either.
The switch to other alternatives has been made by companies that have fully banned plastic bags. They may require customers to purchase a reusable bag. For example, in 2013, home furnishing retailer IKEA banned the practice of handing out plastic bags, instead, requiring customers to either bring their own bag or purchase a reusable bag. Still its effectiveness in changing consumer behaviour is arguable, since IKEA is the only business to ban the handout of plastic bags in Singapore. IKEA’s standalone efforts may not unfortunately cultivate the bring-your-own-bag habit among Singaporeans.
In the unlikely scenario that businesses do aggressively adopt the switch to other types of packaging, however, that would indeed signal another impending environmental disaster. Research by MEWR showed why paper is not better than plastic. that although plastic bags mean a higher global warming potential and have a higher energy consumption in the production stages, paper bags may require higher land use change and demand more water. In fact, the inventor of the plastic bag, Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin, said that he had invented them so that we could protect our trees from the burgeoning demand of paper bags.
Still, there is strong ground support for the plastic bag surcharge. Thanks to efforts by MEWR, various interest groups, as well as the local media for reporting on the issue, many Singaporeans have greater awareness of plastic overuse in Singapore. It has translated into their support of measures to curb plastic overuse, such as through a plastic bag tax. According to a report by The Straits Times which interviewed over 30 people, most were supportive of the new tax at some Fairprice outlets. Another Straits Times online poll in 2017 showed that 75% of people were supportive of a tax. According to NTUC FairPrice, 71.1% of the 1,745 customers surveyed expressed support for a plastic bag charge at supermarkets in the study conducted at seven outlets during a month-long trial in September 2019.
Even so, the move may not be welcomed by some in the business community, as the use of alternative materials may “increase business costs”, said Dr Lina Gong for Eco-business. The Fairprice Group CEO Seah Kian Peng also voiced out that the surcharge “really is not a small step for Singapore”. Yet, he also hopes that more than half of corporates and retailers in Singapore would take similar strides by 2020, as he believes they have the power to influence consumer mindsets.
In addition, Singapore’s 20 cents surcharge for takeaway containers in hawker centers has not been effective. This is likely due to Singaporeans preferring to pay for the takeaway container than troubling themselves to pack an extra lunchbox. After conducting a survey at Our Tampines Hub hawker centre, it was found that the majority of patrons would still prefer to use disposable packaging instead of bringing their own lunchboxes.