Introduction |
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1. |
Solid waste in
Singapore has increased six-fold over the past 30 years. At this rate
of increase, we will need to build a new incineration plant every
5-7 years and a new landfill the size of Sentosa Island every 25-30
years. This is not sustainable. Singapore has therefore adopted a
waste minimisation and recycling approach as a long-term solution
to address the solid waste problem. |
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2. |
About half of
the solid waste in Singapore comes from households and the amount
is increasing with more people and rising affluence. More waste from
households also means that each household has to pay more as refuse
collection and disposal cost will increase with growing volume of
waste produced. We need to reduce waste from households by promoting
recycling. |
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3. |
The
National Environment Agency (NEA) launched the National Recycling
Programme (NRP) in April 2001 to HDB and landed property estates to
provide the residents a convenient means to recycle waste. In the
NRP, the appointed public waste collectors provide recycling bags
or bins to households to put in their recyclables such as paper, metal
cans, plastic and glass bottles and clothing and collect them every
fortnightly on pre-determined days. |
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4. |
The
NRP does not include condominiums and private apartments as these
private estates have their own Management Corporations (MC) and Managing
Agents (MA). The decision to provide recycling service to residents
rests with the MC and the success of a recycling programme depends
very much on the planning, management, monitoring and communication
of MA. NEA is encouraging MC and MA to introduce recycling programme
in their estates so that residents in the estates have the opportunity
to participate in recycling and play their part to reduce waste. |
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Value-added
Service to Residents |
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5. |
A
recycling programme may be integrated into the waste collection contract
or the cleaning contract with no additional cost to residents. An
integrated waste management system has the following benefits: |
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Meet the needs of 'green' residents and is viewed as a value-added
service to residents |
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Minimise or avoid conflicts between cleaners, waste collectors and
recycling company over collection of recyclables |
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Reduce the total waste output of the estate and this may lead to lower
cost |
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Enhance the image of the estate as one with environmentally responsible
residents |
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Role
of Managing Agents |
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6. |
The
steps that an MA could take to introduce a waste recycling programme
in the estates are as follows: |
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Table the proposal to introduce a waste recycling programme at the
meeting of MC to seek approval from MC. Seek help from NEA to prepare
information paper if needed. |
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Upon approval, work with waste collection company/recycling company/cleaner
to prepare a recycling programme. |
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Communicate to all parties (e.g. waste collector, cleaners, recycling
company and residents) the new recycling programme - e.g. locations
of bins, what can be put inside, who will collect, etc. |
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Publicity and awareness raising to rally support of residents - e.g.
circulars and/or notices and display *posters, exhibition panels to
create awareness, launch ceremony, children parties and contest, etc.
Seek help from NEA for posters, educational materials, etc. |
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Spell out clearly to the cleaning contractor what their workers are
to do or not to do, for example: |
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Ensure that recyclables put out by residents are brought to
the designated collection points for collection by the recycling
company. |
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Forbid the workers to remove recyclables from the estate (e.g.
newspaper, drink cans, etc) and keep them for their personal
gains. |
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Maintain the cleanliness of recycling bins. |
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Notify MA on any overflowing of recycling bins. |
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Types
of Recyclable Collection Systems |
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7. |
The
types of recycling programme that could be considered by MA for condominiums
are as follows: |
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Drop-off (i.e. depository) bin system where recycling bins are placed
at strategic locations within the estate |
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Door-to-door collection of recycling bags (similar to NRP system) |
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Bag system with designated collection points where residents can put
their recycling bags out on the scheduled day of collection. |
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*
Posters and exhibition panels (loan without charge) can be obtained
from NEA. Contact NEA's Education and Partnership Department at Tel:
67319211. Materials can be viewed at www.nea.gov.sg.
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Minimum
Service Standards |
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8. |
Right
from the beginning, MA and the appointed recycling company shall agree
on a set of service standards for the recycling programme. These service
standards should include the followings: |
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Collect recyclables according to schedule (e.g. weekly or fortnightly) |
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List of recyclables that residents can put into the recycling bins
or bags |
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Provide an agreed number and size of recycling bins or recycling bags.
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If bag system is adopted, specify the manner and schedule for the
issue of bags to residents |
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Common
Types of Recyclables Accepted For Recycling |
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9. |
The
common types of recyclables acceptable for recycling and also those
unacceptable for recycling are tabulated below: |
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Recyclable |
Acceptable for recycling |
Unacceptable for recycling |
Paper |
Newspaper, computer printouts, writing paper, envelopes, car
park coupons, company annual reports, brochures/pamphlets, magazines,
directories, books, cardboard and paper packaging such as cereal
boxes |
Paper contaminated by food waste, used tissue paper, sweet
wrappers, drink cartons |
Metal Cans |
Beverage cans e.g. soft drink cans, beer cans, Metal cans
e.g. milk powder tins, food cans (after rinsing) |
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Plastic bottles |
Mineral water bottles, soft drink bottles, juice bottles,
detergent/milk containers |
Used styrofoam, disposable cutlery and crockery |
Glass bottles |
Jars, wine bottles, beer bottles, drink bottles |
Light bulbs, window glass, porcelain, ceramic |
Clothing |
All types of clothing |
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Recommended
Practice |
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10. |
It
is strongly recommended that waste recycling service be incorporated
into the waste collection contract or the cleaning contract to ensure
that the responsibilities and obligations of all contractors are spelt
out clearly. To this end, the following points could be taken into
consideration for the contract: |
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Provision of receptacles of appropriate design, volume and numbers
(this could be omitted if the condominium management decides to purchase
their own recycling bins.) |
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Labelling of recycling bins with appropriate stickers |
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Placement of recycling bins at strategic locations or centralised
locations in the estate |
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Collection of recyclables at a suitable frequency agreed by condominium
management |
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Monthly data collection of amount of recyclables |
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Cleaning and maintenance of the recycling bins |
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11. |
If
providing a recycling programme is not explicitly specified in the
ongoing waste collection contract or if there is still a long period
before the waste collection contracts expire, MA can contact NEA and
the waste collection company to discuss the introduction of a recycling
system for the estate. Other recycling companies may also be brought
in if the current waste collection contractor does not have the capability
to implement a recycling programme. Possible collection systems for
recyclables are described in paragraph 7 above. |
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