MAY-JUNE , 2023 | @ green
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Tuas South Incineration Plant , Tuas Power , Singapore .
Masterplan . To further boost recycling rates , there must be a demand for recycled content to be incorporated into products .
Manufacturers can do their part by voluntarily incorporating small incremental percentages of recycled content into their products . This would create more economies of scale for recyclers and boost the supply of recycled content available on the market .
Regulators can potentially explore mandating a baseline recycled content percentage incorporated into products to encourage recycling as part of broader eco-design principles .
For instance , in the European Union ( EU ), the single-use plastic directive stipulates that 25 per cent of bottles should come from recycled plastic by 2025 , increasing to 30 per cent by 2030 . There is no publicly available information on the effectiveness of such a move in boosting the EU ’ s recycling rates .
It will , together with other impending measures and implementations , unquestionably create a genuinely circular ecosystem . Singaporeans also need to play their part in boosting domestic recycling rates .
NEA ’ s ubiquitous blue bins , located near HDB blocks , collect household recyclables , but 40 per cent cannot be recycled due to contamination by food and liquid items .
RECYCLE RIGHT CAMPAIGN
The Recycle Right campaign was initiated in 2019 to create knowledge on correctly recycling . Recycling labels were refreshed and plasters onto bins and chutes as part of the campaign . The Bloobin mascot was introduced in 2022 to boost awareness further .
This year , every Singaporean household can collect a “ Bloobox ” at designated vending machines to contain their recyclables , with a compartment separating their recyclable waste from electronic waste . Some 530,000 “ Blooboxes ”, of 93 per cent available , were collected when they were made available to the public from Mar 19-Apr 30 .
It would be helpful to understand how this initiative impacts Singapore ’ s domestic recycling rate in approximately a year , which is a reasonable timeline for judging its efficacy . These practices have been seen in neighbouring Asian countries like Japan and Taiwan , and they have significantly boosted domestic recycling rates .
But last-mile delivery for recycling remains a concern in Singapore , as the responsibility lies on households to segregate at source and bring down the “ Blooboxes ” to the recycling bins and chutes to be collectors by waste management companies .
Without incentives , it is hard to comprehend what would spur an individual to do this . Efforts around domestic household recycling must be premised on incentivisation , convenience and more efforts to reduce source contamination as much as possible .
For now , the success of the Recycle Right and “ Bloobin ” campaigns remains to be seen . But more should be done to maximise its prospects for Singapore to reverse the decline in recycling rate , meet its long-term recycling targets and enable a more circular economy . – @ Green
For instance , in the European Union ( EU ), the singleuse plastic directive stipulates that 25 per cent of bottles should come from recycled plastic by 2025 , increasing to 30 per cent by 2030 . There is no publicly available information on the effectiveness of such a move in boosting the EU ’ s recycling rates .”
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