Reduction of Single-use Plastic

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what plans does the Ministry have to encourage more businesses to reduce usage of single-use plastic.

Thank you. My Ministry takes the issue of marine plastic pollution seriously, and measures are in place to prevent marine pollution from land-based sources. For example, we have strict anti-littering measures and dispose of all general waste at our waste-to-energy plants. Any litter that enters our waterways is removed using litter traps and flotsam removal craft before it reaches the sea. Beach and underwater clean-ups are also conducted.

However, tackling marine plastic pollution will require international and regional cooperation because of its transboundary nature. There has been positive momentum. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 emphasises the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources. Singapore actively participates in regional and global discussions to address marine litter and microplastics. Singapore also contributes to international capacity building efforts under the Singapore Cooperation Programme. Last October, the National Environment Agency (NEA) organised a joint Third Country Training Programme with Norway on waste management and reduction of marine litter for government officials from our region.

Our only landfill at Semakau will run out of space by 2035 based on our current waste disposal trends. Waste, including single-use plastics, are already incinerated where possible as this reduces the volume of waste by up to 90%. To prolong the lifespan of Semakau Landfill, my Ministry has been developing measures that address the entire waste value chain and across different waste streams by encouraging businesses and producers to reduce waste and recycle, engaging and partnering the public and private sector and supporting research and development (R&D).

Regarding single-use plastics, a recent NEA life-cycle assessment study found that available alternatives to plastics, including biodegradable bags, also have an environmental impact. For example, they consume water during production or they result in forest destruction. Substituting plastics with these alternatives is not likely to improve the environmental outcome. This is especially so in Singapore where we incinerate our waste instead of landfilling it. Our approach, thus, is focused on reducing the use of single-use plastics and packaging.

To encourage businesses to minimise their contribution to plastic waste, my Ministry recently announced that the implementation of mandatory reporting of packaging data and packaging reduction plans will be brought forward by one year, to 2020. This will include single-use plastic packaging. We are also studying the feasibility of implementing an Extended Producer Responsibility framework for certain single-use packaging and plastics. We have already taken the lead by disallowing the use of disposables in our new hawker centres for dine-ins.

NEA provides funding support to organisations with initiatives to reduce the use of single-use disposables or promote plastic recycling. These include the 3R Fund, 3P Partnership Fund or the Call for Ideas Fund. For instance, Zero Waste SG received funding for their Bring-Your-Own Campaign in 2017, where they partnered retailers to encourage consumers to use reusable containers, bottles and bags through educational tips, resources and incentives. We will continue to engage, educate and support businesses and the public in reducing the use of single-use plastics.

The private sector has also taken steps to discourage the excessive consumption of single-use plastics. For example, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has stopped providing plastic lids and straws for dine-in. Startups like UnPackt are also promoting packaging-free shopping by requiring customers to bring their own reusable containers for groceries.

To support R&D in waste reduction, recycling and the recovery of valuable fractions, NEA has embarked on the Closing the Waste Loop Initiative. The Initiative encourages collaboration between institutes of higher learning, research institutes and private sector partners to develop technologies and solutions to tackle challenges in waste management. As part of the Initiative, NEA has solicited and is evaluating research proposals on the sustainable design of plastic materials, reducing the use of plastic materials and packaging, making plastics more reusable and easier to recycle, and recovering value from waste plastics.

Ultimately, the issue of marine plastic litter and excessive use of single-use plastics will require everyone to play his or her part. This can be done by properly disposing of waste into litter bins and using reusable bags and containers, instead of disposables. Individuals can find information on other ways to reduce and reuse on our NEA website and the myENV mobile app.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply and I am glad that mandatory reporting is going to be brought forward. Can I ask whether we will consider providing some incentives to these businesses or companies that are promoting environmentally friendly practices, such as the companies that are not giving out straws and plastic lids or even the packaging-free companies that the Senior Minister of State had mentioned?

The second is on the plastic bag charge. I have brought this up previously. I know that, on the ground, one of the concerns is how do we reuse plastic bags when they were used to contain frozen food or meat and seafood. So, can the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) consider a selective plastic bag charge so that if you are using it not for frozen food, meat or seafood, then there will be a charge involved?

On the first question relating to giving incentives to companies, as I have alluded to, we do provide support to companies that have initiatives to promote recycling, reduce the use of single use plastics and waste minimisation projects. So, an example would be the 3R Fund, which I have talked about that was launched in 2009. It is a co-funding scheme for companies. Since then, we have disbursed about $1.36 million for such projects and have diverted 11,000 tonnes of waste from the incineration plants.

There are also other incentives to acknowledge companies who have put in effort to reduce packaging waste. There is the Singapore Packaging Agreement Award that we give out. This year, we have awarded Australian Fruit Juice (S) Pte Ltd because they have put in effort to reduce their packaging waste like reducing the packaging material for their 2-litre bottles.

We also have the 3R awards for hotels and shopping malls to recognise their achievements. And there are other funds like the Call for Ideas Fund and the 3P Partnership Fund. We will continue to see and look into ways to support companies which promote waste minimisation and help us in our efforts to achieve a Zero Waste vision.

Regarding the second question about plastic bag charge, as I have said earlier, the NEA lifecycle assessment study has shown that different types of disposables, whether it is single-use plastics or other types of bags, have an impact and cost on the environment, even biodegradable bags, because you need lots of water for production, for instance, or there will be forest destruction and greenhouse gas emissions in the process.

What we are really looking at is how we can do this in a holistic manner. In fact, a city like San Francisco, for instance, is now imposing a charge not just on single-use plastic bags, but all kinds of disposable bags, paper as well as plastics. We are monitoring this closely to see the effectiveness of the policy.

Having said that, what is important is, we need to look at our local context, to adopt a rational and discerning approach to design policies suited to our unique needs and circumstances. In Singapore, for instance, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) study, the recent survey, has shown that two-thirds of the respondents who take single-use plastic bags from supermarkets say that they use these bags to bag and dispose their garbage. In fact, many of us stay in high-rise apartments and we use plastic bags to bag and dispose of our garbage. It has taken us many years from the 1970s to get Singaporeans to do this. It is a key way for hygienic disposal of waste. Therefore, we cannot take this for granted. We need to carefully consider how imposing a mandatory charge on single-use plastics will impact on such behaviour.

Secondly, we have proactive measures in place to tackle the harmful effects of plastics in the oceans and landfills, which are actually the subject of discussion by many other countries and internationally. We have a safe and efficient waste management and disposal system. All our plastic bags that are disposed properly will be incinerated. They do not go directly into the landfill. Even for those that may get into our waterways, we have measures in place – litter traps, for instance, and flotsam removal craft – to retrieve these bags before they go into the sea.

Notwithstanding this, we recognise that plastic waste is a key waste stream. As I have noted, we will not hesitate to implement legislation and policies where they are appropriate. So, we are bringing forward our mandatory packaging waste reporting and waste reduction plans, including for plastics, by a year.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for a very comprehensive answer. Can I just ask a follow-up question, please?

I appreciate that the Ministry is looking at both taxes and incentives. That is what we were asking about. And we know that there are some incentives for the companies that are doing the right thing. The Senior Minister of State mentioned KFC as an example, and they have a "no straw" policy. Can I ask: would the Government Ministries and agencies be encouraged not to use single-use plastics for all the catering, for all the events that happen? Will there be something that could be introduced or encouraged within the Government, in the public-private partnerships?

Certainly, this is something that we ought to consider.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. May I just confirm MEWR is going to review this plastic bag charge or is this a "case closed"?

As I have said, I think what we want to do is to adopt a holistic approach and to tackle this upstream. So, by bringing forward the mandatory reporting of packaging waste and waste reduction plans, we are working on addressing the issue of excessive consumption of disposables, not just plastics, but all kinds of disposables. Currently, we do not plan to implement a charge on single-use plastics. But we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of various policies that are implemented overseas.