SINGAPORE: About 70 per cent of people in Singapore do not fully understand what plastics to recycle, resulting in the majority of plastic products being disposed of as general waste, according to a report released by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) on Thursday (Aug 30).
The report, which includes a survey of more than 1,000 people in Singapore on their plastic usage habits and attitudes towards recycling, is the culmination of an eight-month study, SEC said in a media release.
It was commissioned jointly with Deloitte & Touche Enterprise Risk Services.
According to the report, 45 per cent of respondents said they needed more information on the different types of plastics, and what can and cannot be recycled.
As for why they do not recycle, 42 per cent of respondents cited inconvenience as a reason.
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SEC executive director Jen Teo noted that one way to help people improve their recycling habits is to have companies print recyclability information on their packaging products.
This, she said, will “facilitate upstream sorting and recycling”, making the collection of recyclable plastic items more efficient.
“This initiative would go together with a new education campaign to teach the public what and how to recycle their plastic waste,” she said.
“NEW CIRCULAR ECONOMY” FOR PLASTICS NEEDED: SEC
The report also suggests that the creation of a “new circular economy” for plastics could lead to an improvement in Singapore’s plastic recycling rates, said SEC.
SEC chairman Isabella Loh explained that currently, Singapore’s plastic ecosystem is “mostly linear”. This means that plastic goes from producers to consumers and then to the waste bin.
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“We need to connect producers, consumers and downstream users to form a circular economy for plastics so they are collected, recycled and reused to generate other products,” she said. “This will reduce the pressure on Singapore’s waste stream as well as conserve natural resources.
“Singapore has the knowledge and the talent to develop innovative methods to reintroduce recycled plastic into the economy to aid growth and build a circular plastics economy,” she added.
Several recommendations to help improve Singapore’s plastics ecosystem were also made in the report.
One of them is to build a market for recycled plastic through innovation.
SEC chairman Isabella Loh speaking at the Singapore Environmental Achievement Awards on Aug 30, 2018. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
SEC suggested that governments and public sector organisations could step in to support existing markets in Singapore that are using specific types of plastics for manufacturing recycled plastic pellets.
It explained that recycled plastic can be used to support major manufacturing segments in Singapore, particularly biomedical manufacturing, electronics and general manufacturing industries.
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“For example, several start-up companies around the world are devising machines to produce plastic filaments to be used for 3D printing machines,” said SEC. “Singapore’s plastic waste stream could be directed towards recycling for biomedicine companies for 3D printing.
“Similarly, recycled plastics can be used for flat-panel displays and ink and toner cartridges for the electronics manufacturing sector, as well as the use of artificial intelligence for waste management.”
The report was launched at SEC’s conference on Thursday, which was also held in conjunction with the annual Singapore Environmental Achievement Awards.
A total of 14 companies and organisations were honoured at the ceremony for their sustainable business practices.
