Speech by Dr Amy Khor at the Launch of the Zero Waste Masterplan 30 Aug 2019

TOPICS: Waste, Sustainable Devt, Waste Minimisation, Sustainability, Recycling 

Distinguished guests 

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. This is a significant milestone in Singapore’s sustainable development journey and our Year Towards Zero Waste. I am happy that so many have joined us to launch Singapore’s inaugural Zero Waste Masterplan. We have more than 200 representatives from various sectors – industries, civil society, government agencies, academic and research institutes and members of the public with us today for the launch. Your presence is testament to the wide-ranging contributions that have made this Masterplan possible. 

Zero Waste Efforts Key to Fighting Climate Change 

2. At this year’s National Day Rally, PM Lee underscored the critical need for Singapore to address the existential threats of climate change. Singapore is vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme weather. Climate change also has far reaching impact on our water and food supply, and spread of diseases like dengue. 

3. We can already see the effects of climate change. All of Singapore’s top ten warmest years have occurred in the past 25 years; eight of them were recorded in this century. This July was the driest July on record and also the second hottest month since records began. 

4. PM Lee highlighted three things we need to do: understand the science of climate change, mitigate climate change, and adapt to climate change. Reducing waste, and adopting circular economy approaches, will directly support our climate mitigation efforts.

5. We deplete scarce resources when we produce, consume, and throw away. From mining raw materials; to manufacturing and transporting goods; and down to incinerating and landfilling waste. Take for example, a mobile phone. To produce its components like casing and battery, aluminium and lithium have to be mined overseas. The phone is then assembled, enclosed in packaging and transported to us. A study estimated that 3.4 kg of metal ore and 100 litres of water are required to produce just one iPhone. The associated activities – be it mining, manufacturing or shipping – also emits greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. Therefore, we need to take urgent action, and this Masterplan charts a strategic path for us towards a Zero Waste Nation.

Building Resilience through a Circular Economy 

6. Climate change will change the world our businesses operate in. Governments around the world have adopted emissions reduction targets, and businesses will start to feel these carbon constraints. Businesses will also have to adjust to resource constraints, such as energy, clean water, and raw materials. To continue thriving in a carbon- and resource-constrained world, we have to build up our Three Resiliences. First, climate resilience: we must address the existential threats of climate change, especially rising sea levels, and cope with rising temperature and extreme rainfall patterns. Second, resource resilience: we must overcome global resource constraints and ensure a safe and secure supply of critical resources like food and water. Third, economic resilience: we will support our companies to thrive in a future economy that is carbon-light and seize new opportunities in the green economy. 

7. We need to transition to a sustainable future economy that is good for both businesses and the environment. We can no longer afford to operate “business-as-usual”. The inaugural Zero Waste Masterplan is our holistic strategy for Singapore to make a significant paradigm shift, and adopt a circular economy approach towards a Zero Waste Nation. Each chapter in the Masterplan represents a key pillar of the strategy. These include legislation and regulation, infrastructure, industry development, research and development, and outreach and engagement. We have set ourselves an ambitious target – to reduce the amount of waste that we send to our landfill by 30% by 2030. Everyone has a part to play to meet this target – industry, government, and households. I am confident that we will achieve this goal if we accomplish all that has been set out in the Masterplan. This will in turn allow us to extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill beyond 2035. In fact, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Semakau Landfill. Let’s do our part to #SaveSemakau so that we can celebrate many more anniversaries to come! 

Government is Taking the Lead 

8. The Government is taking the lead to catalyse a shift to the circular economy. We have introduced a landmark Bill in Parliament — the Resource Sustainability Bill. We have decided to enact a new Act, rather than amend existing ones, to demonstrate and emphasize the new paradigm to view waste as a resource. The Bill marks a distinct shift in our approach towards resource management by extending the regulatory framework upstream. This regulatory framework sends an economic signal to producers to take into account their impact on the environment. It will finance the aggregation and recovery of useful materials such as metals from e-waste. It also aims to encourage producers to reduce the use of packaging. The regulatory framework will target our 3 priority waste streams of electrical and electronic waste, or e-waste, packaging waste including plastics, and food waste. We will share more details on the regulations in the presentations to follow. 

Opportunities for Companies & Good Jobs for Singaporeans

9. Adopting a circular economy approach to work towards a zero waste nation means that the “economy”, as always, is intertwined with the environment. We believe that the circular economy will bring economic opportunities which Singaporean companies and workers can tap on. This is why we have partnered WMRAS to organise the launch event today. 

10. For example, preliminary studies have estimated that we can reap a net benefit of $40 million by recovering and reusing materials from e-waste. This includes creating new jobs, and tapping on overseas opportunities to export our local solutions. In fact, TES Singapore, a local e-waste recycler, is currently building a new facility to treat lithium-ion batteries from Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. The treatment process employs chemical extraction techniques to recover lithium and other valuable materials. This will help grow the green economy and create new jobs for engineers and skilled technicians.

11. There are similar opportunities with plastics. Many of you here will be familiar with China’s ban on plastic recyclables, and how this has shifted the trade patterns of plastics. Many countries are also closing their borders to plastic recyclables. We believe that closing the plastics loop domestically, to extract treasure from trash, is an area where both economic and environmental opportunities lie. NEA recently conducted a study on how we can develop the local plastics recycling industry, and is planning a deeper dive into various recycling solutions and their feasibility for adoption in Singapore. For example, mechanical recycling to turn waste plastics into plastic pellets for manufacturing new products, or chemical recycling to turn plastic waste into chemical feedstock or fuel. We will conduct an industry consultation session after the launch event to share more information and seek the industry’s views.

12. All these changes will not just generate profits for companies, but also create good jobs with better working conditions in the Environmental Services industry. The Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System, or PWCS, is an example. The PWCS uses air pressure to move waste through a network of pipes into a central collection station. As compared to labour-intensive collection of waste from individual refuse chutes. This has transformed the way waste is collected, and created new high value-added jobs such as skilled technicians and project engineers. 

13. 24 year-old Mr Koh Kheng Huat is a promising young man who has pursued a career in this industry. He currently works at PV Vacuum Engineering, a PWCS services company, as a project coordinator. To upskill himself, he has enrolled in a SkillsFuture Work-Study Programme for a Diploma in Applied Science by Republic Polytechnic. The specialisation in Environmental Services and Management will enhance his capability to take on more complex projects. 

14. Another example is Ms Jade Loh, who works at Plaspulp Union, a local SME which develops recycling solutions for waste materials. Her company utilises advanced technology and automation to process plastic waste for use in new products. An important solution indeed as the world declares war on plastic waste. I am glad that both Kheng Huat and Jade are able to join us today, and I wish them all the best in their career. 

15. As the environmental services sector continues its transformation efforts, more good jobs will be created. By 2025, we expect about 30,000 people from the industry to benefit from higher-value jobs through skills upgrading and technology adoption. I encourage our industry partners to proactively seek opportunities through programmes such as NEA’s Regulatory Sandbox for Environmental Services or the $30 million Productivity Solutions Grant.

Science and Technology at the Fore of Zero Waste

16. We are also leveraging science and technology to develop new and more efficient ways to recover resources from waste. A few months ago, we announced our plans for NEWSand: a strategic endeavour to turn incineration bottom ash into construction material, instead of landfilling it. Progress on NEWSand is going well. NEA has developed provisional environmental standards for the use of NEWSand, and field trials are on track to begin next year. 

17. Beyond closing individual resource loops, we will also adopt a systems-level approach to promote industrial symbiosis. This refers to mutually beneficial collaboration, where what is deemed as waste by one could be used as raw material for another. The Tuas Nexus is a good illustration of industrial symbiosis. The co-location of NEA’s Integrated Waste Management Facility and PUB’s Tuas Water Reclamation Plant will allow output from one facility to be used as feedstock to another. The Tuas Nexus will co-digest food waste with used water sludge to triple biogas yield, which in turn will generate energy to power the Tuas Nexus. 

18. We are also exploring closing resource loops at the district level. Government agencies across various domains are working together to optimise resource flows within the upcoming Jurong Lake District and Punggol Digital District. One possibility is to convert food waste into useful products like compost for landscaping – all within the district. We are also exploring further synergies in our existing districts. For example, JTC commissioned a Jurong Island Circular Economy Study to map out resource flows and identify further synergies within the petrochemical cluster.

19. To achieve a Zero Waste Nation, we must nurture a vibrant R&D ecosystem. We need innovative enterprises to test-bed promising technologies and scale them up to commercial viability. To do so, we have dedicated significant resources in R&D. Our $45 million Closing the Waste Loop R&D initiative is propelling research to extract valuable components from packaging waste; spearheading solutions to turn incineration bottom ash into construction materials; and synthesising novel methods to recycle e-waste. We are also pushing the boundaries of waste-to-energy technologies with the $25 million WTE R&D programme. We will continue to invest in and harness technology to close the resource loop for waste; like what we have done for water. This will augment Singapore’s position as a leader and centre of excellence in circular economy solutions. In other words, we will make a splash, with our trash!

Building our Future Singapore Environment Together

20. Our Zero Waste vision requires everyone to play a part. We need individuals, businesses and organisations to partner us to co-create and co-deliver effective solutions. Earlier this year, I hosted a roundtable dialogue for NGOs and youth groups such as Zero Waste SG and Sustainable Living Lab. I was glad to see their passion as they shared their views on how we can do better on our zero waste efforts.

21. We also engaged many other stakeholders in preparation for the Masterplan. 
As part of our engagements, we consulted more than 250 companies to craft our regulations. We also sought the views of more than 5,000 households on recycling and held 7 focus group discussions to gather the views of Singaporeans. More than 1,300 people participated in our public consultation. In partnership with the National Youth Council, we spoke with youth leaders to understand their perspectives on environmental sustainability. We have been actively engaging schools and the youth as well to support them in organising ground-up initiatives. In total, we have engaged more than 6,000 stakeholders in preparation for the Masterplan.

22. In this Year Towards Zero Waste, MEWR and NEA have embarked on the #RecycleRight campaign. We are co-creating measures with Singaporeans to reduce the contamination of recyclables in our blue bins. Today, I am pleased to unveil the new design of our recycling bin labels, which is a first product of our co-creation efforts. 

23. The new design clearly indicates examples of what can be recycled within each category of material, and what cannot be recycled. This is to encourage people to place the right recyclables into the blue bins. There will also be a prominent banner stating “No Food. No Liquids.” – to remind users to keep recyclables clean and free from food and liquid waste. These labels will be progressively rolled out over the next few months in your housing estates. I hope the new design will help everyone to Recycle Right. And now, with the banner “No Foods, No Liquids”, there is no excuse not to Recycle Right! 

24. Our engagement with Singaporeans is an ongoing journey. A Citizens’ Workgroup will start next month to focus on other ways to improve household recycling and reduce contamination of our blue recycling bins. We will continue to support ground-up initiatives with the $2 million Towards Zero Waste Grant to partner individuals and organisations in your zero waste efforts. 

25. I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to all who shared your ideas and perspectives. We have today a Masterplan which encapsulates the aspirations of Singaporeans to treasure our precious resources and to do our part to protect Singapore and our planet.

Conclusion

26. It has been said that: We did not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we merely borrowed it from our children. Our pioneer generation worked hard to leave us with the clean and liveable Singapore that we enjoy today. It is now our turn to take action together to ensure that our children and grandchildren will inherit the shining jewel that is Singapore.

27. Today’s launch is an important step and I invite you to continue this journey with us.

28. Thank you.

Speech