AFTER living in Singapore for almost 20 years and admiring its
progress on many fronts, one area my family and I are sad to see
little development in is the failure of people to take ownership of
the national recycling initiatives.
For example, the fortnightly door-to-door collection of
recyclable items often draws a response from only a small
proportion of apartments in our HDB estate.
So much paper from our mail boxes still finds its way to the
ground below the boxes rather than in the recycling bin. And we
cringe to see so few people taking their own bags on their
intentional shopping trips to the FairPrice supermarket in our
estate.
The incentive of a 10-cent rebate (for a minimum purchase of
$10) for customers using their own bags fails to bite. It is time
for the Government to take a more active role in encouraging the
use of recyclable bags by putting more pressure on the supermarket
chains to charge customers for the use of plastic bags.
Allan Harkness
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"When recycling is neither convenient nor cheap, it will be
difficult to convince the public to support the national green
movement.'
MR LIM BEO LOON: 'I live in a shophouse along
Lavender Street and there is no recycling bin along the entire
street. In the past few months, I've had to collect the plastic
bottles from my neighbours and take them to City Square Mall. I
contacted SembWaste, which handles waste disposal in my area, and
was quoted these monthly charges: $80 for collection once a month,
$150 for two collections a month and $200 for a weekly collection.
When recycling is neither convenient nor cheap, it will be
difficult to convince the public to support the national green
movement.'
...and inconvenience
'There has to be greater convenience for people to purchase
green cars and recharge their vehicles.'
MR VICTOR LOOI: 'Cash
incentives are insufficient in promoting the use of
energy-efficient cars in Singapore ('Give cash incentives to boost
green car sales'; Nov 3). There has to be greater accessibility and
convenience for people to first, purchase green cars, and second,
recharge their vehicles. There is also this persistent mindset
among Singaporeans that they are willing to switch to green cars if
everyone else is doing it. So produce a few types of green cars -
some with stylish looks to appeal to businessmen and others which
emphasise comfort to appeal to small families.'
