Singapore Government Press Release
Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 6837-9666

SPEECH BY MR LIM SWEE SAY, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF SEMBVISY’S MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY, SEMBSITA HOUSE, 12 TUAS AVE 18 ON 13 NOVEMBER 2002 AT 10.00 AM

His Excellency Mr Gary Quinlan

Australian High Commissioner to Singapore

Mr David Berry

CEO, Visy Recycling

Ms Loh Wai Kiew

President and CEO, SembCorp Waste Management

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning

I am very happy to join you here this morning at the opening of SembVisy Materials Recovery Facility. It marks yet another milestone in our efforts to minimize waste and maximize recycling in Singapore.

At the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development, one conclusion drawn was that the world we live in today has not become more sustainable for development compared to ten years ago. There is a clear need to change our consumption pattern. All over the world, we have to reduce our consumption of resources such as paper, metals, plastics, wood, food, energy and water. Otherwise, faster depletion of natural resources and higher production of waste will add to the growing burden on the global environment. The current trend is indeed environmentally unsustainable.

Here in Singapore, we are taking concrete steps to change our attitude towards waste generation and resource conservation. In 2000, we generated 4.6 million tonnes of waste and recycled 1.8 million tonnes of them, giving a recycling rate of 40%. Last year, we increased the level of recycling to 2.2 million tonnes out of a total of 5 million tonnes of waste, thereby increasing the recycling rate to 44%.

We have made good progress, but we still have some distance to go towards zero landfill. Everyday, our incineration plants are still incinerating waste containing materials that should have been recycled. Likewise, our landfill site at Pulau Semakau is still receiving some non-incinerable wastes that should be reused. We can certainly recover more. We should also certainly recycle more. This is why the 3P Partners have jointly committed to increase our overall recycling rate from the current 44% to 60% by 2012, as declared in our Singapore Green Plan 2012.

In the past, the weakest links in our recycling efforts were the lack of public awareness and the low level of household participation in recycling. To change all these, we launched the National Recycling Programme (NRP) to make it easier for households to practise recycling.

I recall that when the NRP was first introduced in April 2001, only about 15% (or 1 in 7) of the households participated in recycling. The level of participation went up to 22% (or 1 in 5) by the end of last year. Encouraged by this positive support of the public, we then set a target of 1 in 3 by the end of this year, and 1 in 2 by the end of next year.

Even though these are ambitious targets, I am happy to share with you that household participation rate in recycling has increased from 22% at the end of last year to 30% by the end of Oct this year. With two more months to go before the end of the year, we are on track to achieve our target of 1 in 3 by the end of the year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the public for their strong support. I would also like to thank all our public waste collection companies and recycling companies for their hard work in making recycling convenient and effective.

For us to achieve the target of 1 in 2 by the end of next year, we need the continued support and participation of the People Sector. I urge those who have yet to start recycling to come on board and join this national recycling effort.

The People Sector can count on the Public and Private Sectors to do our part to enhance the NRP collection system, and make it even more reliable and efficient.

First, we are making improvements to the NRP collection system. NEA has introduced the Quality of Service (QOS) Standards for recycling companies on 1 Oct this year. Since then, we have received positive feedback from households. Working in partnership with our public waste collection companies, we will continue to improve the NRP to make it more convenient for the public.

Second, we are improving the efficiency of the sorting and recovery of recyclables. This MRF set up by SembVisy is currently capable of sorting over 40 tonnes of recyclable materials a day: paper and cardboard, plastics, glass and metals. The sorting process is semi-automated. It is efficient and productive, requiring only 14 workers, or half the number required compared to manual sorting.

Third, we are improving the recovery rate of recyclable materials from recyclables collected from households. At present, this facility can achieve about 80% of recovery rate. This is an encouraging start for our NRP. However, this also means about 20% of the waste put in by households into the recycling bags are actually not recyclable. We will continue to step up public education. With greater awareness and continual education, we believe more households will be able to sort waste more effectively at home, and reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste coming to this sorting plant. This will help minimize the cost of collection and sorting, and make recycling efforts more cost effective and sustainable.

Last but not least, we are encouraging greater use of recyclable materials. For example, SembVisy is trying out the concept of "Closed Loop Recycling" at our hawker centres. The idea is to make more use of disposable plates, cups, packages and cutlery that are made from recyclable materials. The initial findings are promising. SembVisy is now conducting additional trials to determine the cost attractiveness of such an approach to the hawkers, as well as its acceptance to consumers.

In conclusion, waste minimization and recycling is for real. It is the way forward for us to enhance our environmental sustainability. We have made some good progress. By working closely together, I am confident that our 3P partners can realize our shared target of 60% recycling rate by 2012.

I congratulate SembCorp Waste Management and Visy Recycling for their fruitful partnership in the setting up of this MRF. I wish you all the very best.

It now gives me great pleasure to declare open the new SembVisy MRF. Thank you.

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