Recycling gets easier with a bin at every HDB block

Improved access set to encourage more to make it a regular habit
By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 4 Oct 2014

THE list of excuses for not recycling that plastic bottle or stack of paper just got shorter - every HDB block in Singapore now has a recycling bin, completing an initiative begun three years ago.

Since 2011, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has required public waste collectors to provide one bin per block, under its new waste collection contracts, compared with one per five blocks previously.

Last month, Veolia Environmental Services started its new contract for the Tanglin-Bukit Merah area - the last remaining sector without comprehensive coverage. A spokesman confirmed that recycling bins had been installed at all the housing blocks.

Environmentalists said the expanded coverage will encourage more people to recycle - provided residents know where the bins are located.

Mr Eugene Tay, founder and director of Green Future Solutions, a non-governmental organisation that promotes environmental awareness, said some bins are in places convenient for the waste collectors but not for residents, as is the case at his block in Bedok.

"The public waste collectors should look at where most people go and the walkways they use, or perhaps place the bins somewhere near the lifts," said Mr Tay, who received an EcoFriend award from the NEA this week for his outstanding environmental contributions.

Ms Bhavani Prakash, founder of environmental website Eco Walk the Talk, suggested putting up fliers at common notice boards to explain how to sort waste items and what to put in the recycling bins.

"They should be in an easy- to-understand pictorial form," she said. "It's also important to explain why we should recycle, and what happens to the waste sent for recycling, to nudge people."

Ms Doris Koh, a 63-year-old housewife whose Queenstown block of flats recently got a bin, said it had made recycling more convenient.

"My daughter, who lives nearby, also has one on her doorstep now. Before, we had to walk quite a distance."

More than 80 per cent of Singapore's resident population live in Housing Board flats.

The NEA said waste collectors have to provide a 120-litre recycling bin at each landed property as well.

The latest milestone comes as the authorities seek ways to boost the country's overall recycling rate - from 61 per cent last year to 70 per cent by 2030.

Nearly all construction debris here is recycled, but rates for more common materials such as paper and plastics lag far behind.

Last year, slightly more than half of all paper and cardboard waste - but only 11 per cent of plastic waste - was recycled.





Partition recycling bins

THE provision of a recycling bin for every HDB block is appreciated ("Recycling gets easier with a bin at every HDB block"; Oct 4), but what is lacking are separate compartments for glass, paper, plastic and metal.

As a result, all waste is dumped into the recycling bin, and much time and effort have to be spent sorting out the recyclable items.

It is also not uncommon to see non-recyclable waste as well as bulky items like mattresses being thrown into the recycling bins.

Can the National Environment Agency consider having recycling bins with separate compartments for different recyclable waste?

V. Subramaniam (Dr)
ST Forum, 19 Nov 2014

Why recycling bins are not partitioned

COMMINGLED recycling bins are provided in housing estates to make it more convenient for residents to recycle, so that they do not need to spend additional time and effort segregating the different types of recyclables - paper, metal, plastic and glass ("Partition recycling bins" by Dr V. Subramaniam; last Wednesday).

It is also more cost-effective for the public waste collectors and results in less vehicular pollution for our environment, as there is no need to deploy separate collection trucks for the different types of recyclables.

The recyclables are then taken to material recovery facilities to be sorted, baled and sent to local recyclers or exported for recycling.

On the issue of non-recyclables being deposited into recycling bins, the bins are provided with labels to indicate the common items that can be deposited, as well as those that cannot be accepted, such as food/liquid waste, bulky waste, porcelain, ceramics, tissue paper and light bulbs. HDB residents who have bulky items to dispose of should contact their town councils for the removal service.

We encourage all residents to make the effort to reduce and recycle their waste as much as possible. This will alleviate the need to commit land and resources to the building of more disposal facilities, and contribute to preserving the environment and conserving limited resources for future generations.

Ong Soo San
Director, Waste and Resource Management Department
National Environment Agency
ST Forum, 26 Nov 2014