SIE 2016; T6; Joe: Technical Report; Draft #1: Improving plastic waste management by reducing and recycling single-use plastics from beverage shops.

Background

This report responds to a call for proposals to recommend solutions to specific problems in a particular area of focus. The team decided to work on plastic waste management in Singapore, focusing on the beverages’ packaging waste.

Single-use plastics are a popular choice amongst consumers due to its advantages such as low cost and convenience. With higher demand, there will be a surge in plastic production. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), plastic production around the world saw a dramatic increase from 15 million tonnes in 1964 to 311 million tonnes in 2014. The number is expected to double again over the next 20 years.

With ever-increasing plastic being produced, this implies that plastic waste will also rise. As a significant amount of plastic waste is being produced, it is crucial on how effectively it can be managed as plastic is a type of material that is difficult to biodegrade, which will result in it lasting a long time in this world.

Due to the long lifespan of plastics, those that are not properly disposed of will cause a variety of problems. One of the problems would be water pollution. When plastics break down into microplastic, it enters the food cycle of sea creatures causing harm to the marine biodiversity. Also, it releases toxic chemicals into the environment and can make their way into our food and water resources.

Last year, Sriring, O. (2018) published an article about a pilot whale that died due to 80 pieces of rubbish pieces found in its stomach has garnered global attention. This owes to the fact that there is plastic pollution in the ocean. According to the UN Environment Programme (2017), every year about 4.8 to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the ocean. Singapore contributes to plastic pollution in the ocean through its high usage of plastics in the country. According to a study by Singapore Environment Council (2018), Singaporeans use at least 1.76 billion plastics such as bottles, bags and other disposable items yearly, in which only less than 20% are recycled. The remaining are discarded, burnt or to be transported to landfills.

This is an issue to a city like Singapore, as the majority of Singapore’s non-recyclable waste; plastic is incinerated and shipped to a man-made island nearby, called Semakau island. Geddie, J. (2018) reported that Semakau Island, Singapore’s only landfill, is expected to be filled up by 2035, 15 years from now. Originally, it was expected to last till 2045 however, due to the amount of waste generated that has increased over the years, the projected lifespan of the landfill was shortened.

This is crucial as Singapore faces land scarcity and is vulnerable to situations like this, thus we should play a part and contribute more to protect the environment. Initiatives must be taken to reduce plastic production and consumption in order to provide a better future for the next generation.

Many developed cities around the world had imposed certain types of disposable plastic ban. Singapore can similarly protect the environment by reducing unnecessary plastic consumption in the form of bottles and beverage packaging.

1.1 Current solutions in Singapore

Incineration was introduced in Singapore in the form of Waste-to-energy (WTE) plants. Currently, incineration helps prolong the lifespan of the landfill by reducing the amount of volume of waste. According to the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), incineration of plastic can reduce the total volume from 100% to 10%. But it is not a viable long-term solution as the burning of plastic will release fumes that are hazardous to the environment. Without incineration of this non-biodegradable material, it would stay around for generations.

In 2007, the National Environment Agency (NEA) had started the Singapore Packing Agreement. In this voluntary agreement, NEA and operators worked together to reduce “packaging wastage” from innovative design, efficient manufacturing and encouraged “reuse or recycling of packaging materials”. According to NEA (2019), under the second SPA’s duration, businesses have reduced the total amount of 54,000 tonnes of packaging waste.

ZeroWaste SG (2018) has also published a guide to encourage food and beverage (F&B) operators to reduce plastic usage. In this guide, auditors issued a rating for popular F&B operators based on efforts in reducing plastic usage, persuade consumers to adopt a Bring Your Own (BYO) culture and suggest other things for them to contribute more. The results published in this guide show that the majority of F&B operators are open to the concept of a BYO culture.

The ideal situation would be for beverage shops under the Singapore Food Agency(SFA), should not use plastic cups for their drinks. The SFA should include regulations for the shops to omit plastic for their cups, straws, and carriers.

1.2 Problem statement

The amount of plastic waste contributed by beverages is high due to the extensive amount of usage of single-use plastics. This poses a threat to a rise in plastic pollution in the ocean which would, in turn, contribute to climate change.

1.3 Purpose statement

The purpose of this proposal is to suggest solutions to reduce plastic usage from beverage stalls in Singapore.

References:

Geddie, J. (2018, June 08) In Singapore, where trash becomes ash, plastics are still a problem.