Debated in Parliament on 3 Jul 2017.
Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the results of the tender called in August 2016 to study the life-cycle assessment and environmental impact of disposable food packaging; and (b) whether the quantity of disposable food packaging used has increased in the last three years.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) awarded the study on how different types of disposable food packaging materials compare in terms of cost and environmental impact in September 2016. The study is expected to conclude in the second half of 2017.
Between 2014 and 2016, the amount of domestic waste disposed of in Singapore was around 1.7 million tonnes per year, of which about one-third was packaging waste. Packaging waste includes disposable food packaging. Though the amount of packaging waste disposed of has remained fairly constant over the past few years, the amount may increase with population and economic growth.
My Ministry manages the impact of plastic packaging on the environment through the safe incineration of waste rather than direct landfilling. However, it is important that we also continue to make progress on measures to reduce packaging waste.
While my Ministry recognises that plastic bags and disposable takeaway containers are frequently used out of convenience, we strongly encourage businesses to reduce excessive usage, and consumers to use their own reusable bags and takeaway food carriers. Doing so would help conserve valuable resources and reduce the overall waste volume.
We will continue to work with manufacturers, retailers and environmental groups to encourage consumers to reduce the use of disposable food packaging. More recently, for new hawker centres, such as at Our Tampines Hub, Pasir Ris and Yishun, we have taken the additional step of disallowing the use of disposables for dining in at these hawker centres. We will look into more ways to reduce the use of disposable food packaging based on the results of the ongoing study.
PAPERCUTS