Monitoring and Regulating Use of Plastic in Packaging

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment how is the use of plastic packaging monitored and regulated so as to minimise the overuse of plastic for packaging of products.

Under the Resource Sustainability Act, producers of packaged products, as well as retailers, such as supermarkets, with an annual turnover of more than $10 million are required to report their annual packaging use and their plans to reduce, reuse or recycle packaging to the National Environment Agency (NEA). This raises companies’ awareness of the amount of packaging materials consumed, including plastic packaging, and the potential to reduce waste. It also lays the foundation for an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for packaging waste eventually.

To complement this, the Packaging Partnership Programme (PPP), an industry capability-building programme launched in 2021 by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation in partnership with NEA, supports companies in adopting sustainable packaging practices. The PPP initiatives have benefited more than 1,100 companies through the exchange of best practices in sustainable packaging.

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and NEA will continue to look at more ways to encourage companies to reduce their packaging.