The JOY of RECYCLING

Most of us don’t like to think too much about rubbish. We put it in the bin or down the garbage chute in our apartment block and don’t think too far beyond that.

However, household waste is a major contributor to our planet’s waste problem. Like it or not, it needs to be managed if we are to have a brighter green future.

When it comes to being responsible for our own rubbish, the best way to approach it is by following the three golden rules of waste management, or the ‘3 Rs’ - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. “The sequence is important, as waste reduction and reuse is usually the best way to minimise waste,” says Eugene Tay, Director of Green Future Solutions in Singapore. “Recycling still impacts on the environment and should be done last after reduce and reuse.”

But, when our efforts to reduce and reuse still result in an overflowing rubbish bin, the merits of recycling cannot be ignored. “Recycling reduces the use of raw materials and hence, protects our scarce natural resources,” says Amy Ho, Managing Director of World Wide Fund For Nature in Singapore. “The damage to our environment could then be slowed down as a result.”

In fact, by recycling just one plastic bottle, you are saving not just the emissions to make a new one, but you also stop it from getting chucked into a landfill for up to 700 years – and that’s before it even starts to decompose. If every American household recycled just one out of every ten plastic bottles used, it would keep 90 million kilograms of plastic out of landfills.

So, while the issue of recycling can be overwhelming and even mundane, we really have no excuse not to do the simplest of household tasks that will make a difference.

“The collective action of individuals can make a significant impact,” says Ho. “Starting with recycling grey water (wastewater from any household source other than toilets) for gardening purposes, to recycling materials such as glass, paper and aluminium – it all reduces the consumption of raw materials.”

Where Do I Begin?

To ensure that your recycling efforts are having the maximum impact, it’s important to know what recycling programme is in place in your neighbourhood. While many countries have yet to implement national recycling programmes, most have local programmes or at least recycling plants where you can take your sorted trash.

In Singapore, recycling by households has increased dramatically since the launch of the National Recycling Programme (NRP) in 2001, which provides all residents living in HDB estates (public housing), and private landed estates with recycling bags or recycling bins. The recyclables are collected fortnightly on a scheduled day and a Centralised Recycling Depository (CRD) has been provided for every five blocks of HDB flats to encourage more residents to recycle waste.

“The participation rate by households in the NRP has steadily risen from 15 percent in 2001 to slightly above 60 percent today,” says Ong Seng Eng, Director of the resource conservation department at the National Environment Agency (NEA). With less waste to dispose of, the 350-hectare Semakau Landfill, Singapore’s only one, is now expected to last 35 to 40 years, ten years more than what was predicted in 2000.

Recycling in Malaysia isn’t as common, with the national rate of total waste recycled currently at 5 percent. The government aims to increase this to 20 percent by 2020 with the National Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007 – a legislative framework designed to establish a national solid waste management system. This is expected to be enforced soon and will include recycling initiatives such as a mandatory source separation, take-back system and deposit refund system.