![]() ![]() In the world’s leading nation for recycling, Germany, you would have to sort recyclables yourself at home before leaving them at separate recycling bins or containers. All we really have to do is put our recyclables in those blue bins (or recycling chute if you stay at one of the newer flats) and the items would be sorted out at the country’s Materials Recovery Facility. Singapore’s recycling system may not be the world’s best, but let’s admit that it’s fuss-free. So entire neighbourhoods’ recycling efforts can literally go to waste because of one thoughtless action. And when these bins are full, with lids wide open, the contents may get wet during a downpour. Not only does this negate your (and everyone else’s) recycling efforts, it also produces more trash.Įven if your recycling is clean but not an actual recyclable, it unnecessarily fills the bin. If improperly recycled junk contaminates other items in the bin, the entire bin can get corrupted. ![]() We must take responsibility over what we recycle. READ: Why doesn’t recycling rope in the karang guni? A commentary So it’s possible that one day our land could be filled with trash unless we start improving our recycling habits. At the current rate we are generating waste, our only landfill, Pulau Semakau, will run out of space by 2035, according to MEWR. Singapore last year generated 7.7 million tonnes of solid waste - enough to fill 15,000 Olympic-sized swimming pool. The rule of thumb seems to be this: If that piece of recyclable looks gross, don’t put it in. Other recyclable food and drinks packaging, like margarine containers, hazelnut spread jars, beer cans and bottles, need to be emptied and rinsed before they go into the recycling bin. READ: As time runs out on the climate crisis, Singapore prepares to address the cost of adapting, a commentary Plastic containers that pack delicious oily r endang is trash too unless it is cleaned before you place them into the recycling bin. Paper packaging for example, if smeared with gravy of your leftover cai png, is trash. Recyclables, if contaminated, cannot be recycled. Some plastics such as disposable cutlery and biodegradable bags should be trashed after use. Many of us may think that just because an item is made out of recyclable material, it belongs in the recycling bin - but not everything can be recycled. READ: When did Southeast Asia become a dumping ground for waste? A commentary Recent reports of recycling exported by developed countries to the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia that later turned out to be trash should prompt us to think about recycling seriously. ![]() ![]() However, we also need a larger conversation about properly sorting out our other recyclables. That has resulted in most plastics we dispose of becoming general waste. Much of our recycling efforts are heavily focused on plastic, which certainly needs some attention given that the Singapore Environmental Council found last year that seven in 10 of us do not know what plastic to recycle. We have also dumped old clothes, toys, glass cookware and even ceramics. Soiled food paper packaging and tissue papers aren’t the only things that we have placed in recycling bins. Out of 2,003 households surveyed, 67 per cent thought that soiled paper food packaging can be recycled and almost half thought that tissue paper can be placed in blue recycling bins or chutes. In April, a survey by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and NEA found that many Singaporeans still do not know what cannot be recycled. ![]()
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