From Trash to Ash

Ever since China, the world’s largest importer of plastic trash, determined in July 2017 and announced on 16 August 2017, its decision to ban imports of 24 kinds of solid waste from foreign countries, South East Asia has been under intense scrutiny for its inefficient waste management. In this set of countries, however, Singapore appears to have it all sorted out.

The Queen of Clean, the King of hygiene, and the siren of the spotless, Singapore is often dubbed as the cleanest city in the world. With its ultra clean streets and parks, Singapore is known to have no waste in the city.

Where does the waste go, may you ask then? Let us walk you through Singapore’s waste management system.

Most of the waste in Singapore is disposed of through waste-to-energy initiatives. Out of the 5.88 million tonnes of waste generated last year, almost 40% was incinerated. Incineration is the process of combustion of organic substances in waste materials. Hence, almost half of the waste generated in Singapore is converted to energy. The heat dissipated during the process is used to run turbines and generate electricity. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), incineration reduces the volume of waste upto 90% which allows the landfills to accumulate more waste.

Later, from the Tuas Marine Transfer Station, the ash and the rest of the non-incinerated waste are hauled to Pulau Semakau Landfill, world’s first ever offshore landfill created entirely from sea space. Upon reaching the landfill, the waste is transferred to dumping trucks from which the incinerated ash is tipped into the giant landfill cell from a floating platform. An onsite wastewater treatment plant ensures excess water displaced by the ash and rainfall is treated to meet the Trade Effluent Discharge Standards before being discharged into the open sea.

There is, however, a twist. When normally thinking of landfills, our mind is often clogged by the images of an isolated place covered by stinky piles of trash with no vegetation or wildlife whatsoever. Surprisingly, the Semakau Island is not only green and stench free, but also houses a variety of coral reefs, mangroves, and rare fauna like great billed Herons. Singapore’s only landfill’s unpolluted waters and undisturbed nature make it habitable for a diverse range of marine life such as crabs, starfish, and corals. The Semakau island was expected to reach its full capacity by 2045, but due to the increasing rate of production of waste in the last few years, especially during the covid period, the island is now projected to fulfil Singapore’s waste disposal demands till 2035 only.

Although experts from NEA claim that Singapore’s waste-to-energy initiative is environmentally and health friendly, it can not be disputed that incineration typically leads to increased carbon emissions and pollution. The energy generated by the process is not only less in terms of meeting the needs of the 5.7 million people, but it is also not sustainable.

Lack of government initiatives encouraging the people to follow 3 R’s and reduce their energy consumption nullifies the green energy generated by the process of incineration. Since most trash is incinerated, plastic alternatives often touted as biodegradable may not be more environmentally-friendly in Singapore’s context as they would either require a special industry facility to be processed, or would need to be left in the landfill to degrade.

Under its first zero waste master plan, Singapore plans to reduce the amount of waste transported to Semakau Island everyday by 30%. Doing so by 2030 can extend the island’s lifespan beyond 2035, in absence of which, the country will have to come up with an efficient plan to manage its waste without looking for another dumping ground.

Now is the time to reduce waste and take action to reuse your products. Following the 3 R’s is a good way to start. So take the cloth bag to the supermarket when you go grocery shopping. Get that metal straw you’d been thinking of buying and carry it around with you. Refill that bottle in the bag every time you run out of water. And make sure to do your best to generate as little waste as possible.

Because if not now, then when?