Towards a 'car-lite', zero-waste Singapore
Govt commits $1.5b to plans covering power, waste management, transport and more
By Feng Zengkun Environment Correspondent, The Sunday Times, 9 Nov 2014
Govt commits $1.5b to plans covering power, waste management, transport and more
By Feng Zengkun Environment Correspondent, The Sunday Times, 9 Nov 2014
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced this yesterday as he outlined wide-ranging plans to turn Singapore into a "car-lite" and zero-waste nation.
These include an electric car-sharing pilot scheme, using Ang Mo Kio and Tampines to test-bed ideas to encourage cycling, and underground pipes to whisk away rubbish in new Housing Board estates, reducing the need for garbage trucks.
Neighbourhoods will also become "eco-smart", through the use of solar panels to power common facilities for instance.
Pointing to Singapore's 50th birthday next year, PM Lee said "it's a good time to celebrate our clean and green efforts for the (last) 50 years, and to chart a vision for the future", as he launched a year-long Clean and Green Singapore 2015 campaign at an event in Choa Chu Kang.
He also revealed an ambitious Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015. The 112-page document updates the original 2009 blueprint which sets out Singapore's targets and strategies for sustainable development until 2030, to ensure the country remains an oasis for everyone.
The latest blueprint, which more than 6,000 people contributed to and took into account local and global developments in technology, sets wide-ranging targets over 15 years, from increasing how much Singapore recycles, to its air quality, even to the amount of skyrise greenery.
For the first time, separate recycling goals for households and industry have been included, in a bid to get more residents to do their share. Last year's non-domestic recycling, which includes the work done by industries, was 77 per cent.
Ms Melissa Tan, chairman of the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore, believes this is possible if "more is done to raise awareness".
This means getting the message through to the elderly, for instance.
National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der Horng also lauded the new car-sharing scheme - which he said kills two birds with one stone.
It would not just reduce the number of cars on the road, but also solve the problem of people not wanting to buy eco-friendly electric cars due to their prohibitive costs. As of September, there was just one pure electric car on the roads here.
It would not just reduce the number of cars on the road, but also solve the problem of people not wanting to buy eco-friendly electric cars due to their prohibitive costs. As of September, there was just one pure electric car on the roads here.
"We can't keep building more roads for more cars," said PM Lee, hoping that Singapore can learn from other cities, such as Copenhagen, where cycling is a way of life.
He recalled a 2009 visit to the Danish capital, where he saw people cycling in the freeze of winter.
"They made their city cycling-friendly, with lanes, ramps, and other infrastructure... there, cars have regard to bicycles and give way. We have to learn from these examples... and... pilot ideas to see how we can get them to work in Singapore."
PM Lee also made it clear yesterday that it would take all Singaporeans working together to hit the new sustainability targets.
He recalled how the first Keep Singapore Clean campaign in 1968 took a similar "massive effort".
Police and health inspectors advised people against littering while patrolling, fliers were displayed in coffee shops, bus shelters and offices, and the campaign slogan was even printed on cinema tickets.
"We have built a home... we can be proud of. But we must do more as our environmental challenges grow," he said, highlighting how climate change led to prolonged dry weather between January and March.
"Fortunately our lives were not disrupted as we ran our desalination plants at 100 per cent and increased our Newater output to meet our needs," he said.
"But we cannot become complacent as the climate is changing and we must expect more such extreme episodes."
PM Lee, who also presented Heritage Tree Dedication Awards to Singapore Press Holdings, City Developments and Sembcorp Industries for their contributions to the Garden City Fund, was encouraged that many Singaporeans are already organising themselves to do more for the environment.
"Look around and ask yourself: what can I do to make our environment better?"
Sustainable Singapore Blueprint launched
Second edition of blueprint sets out national vision for a sustainable future
By Laura Elizabeth Philomin, TODAY, 8 Nov 2014
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Maintaining green spaces and reducing reliance on private car transportation for a liveable home, creating a “green economy” and increasing domestic recycling for a sustainable city, and greater community engagement.
Second edition of blueprint sets out national vision for a sustainable future
By Laura Elizabeth Philomin, TODAY, 8 Nov 2014
These are just some of the key areas highlighted in the latest Singapore Sustainable Blueprint 2015 (SSB 2015).
Unveiled at the launch of the year-long Clean & Green 2015 Campaign today (Nov 8) by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the blueprint mapped out the government’s vision to commit S$1.5 billion over the next five years to create a more liveable and sustainable future.
Environmental challenges stemming from climate change - like the Singapore’s longest drought in recorded history in February this year - are expected to grow, said Mr Lee. “We cannot become complacent, because climate is changing and I think we must expect more of such extreme episodes - more droughts, more heavy rains at different times - and we must be able to cope with it."
It is the second blueprint on sustainable development after the first one was released in 2009. Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) showed that Singapore was mostly on track to meeting the original 2030 targets set in the 2009 blueprint. The SSB 2015 will see these 2030 targets stretched further, especially for indicators where Singapore had already exceeded the original target.
One such area is the amount of skyrise greenery or rooftop gardens. Originally set at 50 hectares by 2030 in the 2009 blueprint, Singapore had 61 hectares in 2013 and will see a new target of 200 hectares in the latest blueprint.
Other initiatives to enhance green spaces include maintaining public cleanliness and planning parks such that nine in ten households will be within a 10-minute walk from a park. While the length of park connectors has grown steadily from 113km in 2009 to 216km in 2013, it will be further expanded to 400km by 2030.
Continuing the 2009 blueprint’s focus of encouraging greater use greener modes of transport, the SSB 2015 has included introducing features in existing towns to create a more conducive environment for walking and cycling.
Because building more roads for more cars is not a viable option, Mr Lee said: "We want a solution in Singapore where the roads are clear, where there are many alternative for people to travel and to travel in a green and sustainable, and efficient and convenient way."
Under the National Cycling Plan announced last month, the length of cycling paths will be expanded from the current 213km to 700km by 2030, along with intra-town cycling networks that will be piloted in Ang Mo Kio and Tampines.
In addition, new and upcoming MRT lines will increase the length of rail network from 178km to 360km so that 80 per cent of households – compared to the 58.5 per cent in 2013 – will be within a 10-minute walk from a train station.
Other plans to reduce the usage of cars also include introducing driverless vehicles, piloting an electric car-sharing scheme and creating more car-free zones in the city through roads closures for public activities like at Haji Lane and Ann Siang Road.
With domestic recycling rates much lower than industrial recycling, improving household recycling was also addressed by introducing more facilities such as centralised chutes for recyclables in all new HDB flats and Pneumatic Waste Conveyance Systems in more towns.
Initiatives to raise adoption of solar power and other sustainability practices in Singapore-based companies were also outlined to create a “green economy”. The number of “green jobs” is also expected to grow with more demand for expertise and research in areas like improving energy and water efficiency, and pollution and waste reduction.
Underpinning the initiatives in the SSB 2015 was the focus on greater community engagement commitment to environmental awareness. As part of the review of the SSB 2009, MEWR had conducted public consultations and surveys with about 6,000 participants. Findings from the survey showed that 78 per cent of respondents were concerned about environmental issues and almost nine in ten believed caring for environment is the community or individual’s responsibility.
To that end, the SSB 2015 intends to support community projects to enliven community spaces and foster stronger community stewardship over caring for the environment and sustainable living practices. For a start, the blueprint aims to grow the number of active green volunteers from over 1,000 to 5,000 by 2030, as well the number of Community in Bloom Gardens from over 700 to 2,000.
Stressing the importance of more people stepping forward to do their part for the environment, Mr Lee said the government provide the infrastructure but individuals also have a responsibility.
"We can build a better transport network, but we have to adjust our commuting lifestyles and habits. HDB can build more convenient chutes for recycling, but households have to use them and practice the 3R’s - reduce, reuse and recycle,” he added. "So together, we have to develop new norms if we’re really going to succeed in being clean and green."
Pick up after yourself, create more bright spots
By Lim Yan Liang, The Sunday Times, 9 Nov 2014
By Lim Yan Liang, The Sunday Times, 9 Nov 2014
It will take some time to persuade "spoilt" Singaporeans to clean up after themselves, according to the man helming a movement to do just that.
"We can't change Singapore as a society overnight," said Mr Liak Teng Lit, chairman of the Public Hygiene Council, which leads the Keep Singapore Clean Movement.
Citing countries like Japan, where citizens take the initiative to keep common areas clean, Mr Liak lamented that Singaporeans are "so spoilt", being used to town council and hawker centre cleaners picking up after them.
"But hopefully we can change things bit by bit," he said yesterday at the opening ceremony of the year-long Clean and Green Singapore 2015 campaign.
Mr Liak is hoping two community initiatives that were launched alongside the campaign will teach Singaporeans to be more responsible for their own waste.
The first is an expanded Bright Spots Challenge, which aims to increase the number of litter-free "bright spots" in Singapore from 300 now to 500 by the end of next year.
First launched in 2012, the initiative invites people and organisations to adopt communal spaces and keep them clean, turning them into "bright spots" to be emulated.
"I'm hoping that with all these bright spots, good behaviour will grow and spread outwards, and also convince the sceptics," he said.
One such bright spot is Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where Mr Liak was chief executive officer before becoming group chief executive of Alexandra Health in 2012.
Nine in 10 people who eat at the hospital's food court return their trays, whether they are staff, patients or residents, Mr Liak noted.
"Where there is some peer pressure and social norms for you to do things in a certain way, it works."
Members of the public can make pledges at Clean and Green Singapore carnivals that will be held islandwide this month. They can also upload photos of themselves being eco-friendly on social media.
The National Environment Agency said it aims to collect 50,000 photo submissions and pledges by June next year, and is urging companies to make donations to charitable causes when certain milestones are met.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday called on individual Singaporeans to do their part in helping to make Singapore cleaner and greener, noting that each Singaporean now generates nearly 1.5 tonnes of waste a year.
While the Government can build better public transport and more chutes for convenient recycling at home, it is up to each person to adjust their commuting and recycling habits, he said.