“Things like metal cans can be remade into something else, and they’re very useful for us. Why waste it?” said the 75-year-old.Speaking to TODAY after his grocery shopping in Bishan, the 43-year-old said he recycles almost every day.
According to a 2021 National Environment Agency survey, three in five households reported practising recycling. The survey also found an increased awareness that recyclables collected from the blue bins in housing estates and recycling chutes were sorted at central sorting facilities. In response to TODAY’s queries, NEA said that the amount of paper and cardboard recycled has been lower since 2018 due to weaker demand from export markets and high freight costs.E-commerce and online shopping has also led to an increase in paper and cardboard being disposed of, further reducing the recycling rate for these materials, said an NEA spokesperson.
Among other measures to boost recycling rates, the Government has strengthened local recycling capabilities and launched a campaign on how to reduce contamination of recyclable waste. China, once the world’s largest importer of recyclable waste, banned the import of certain recyclable materials in 2018, including mixed paper and mixed plastics, through its “National Sword” policy.
According to Resource Recycling, a news website dedicated to recycling, recovered fiber exports from the United States dipped by more than 13 per cent from 2018 to 2019, its largest year-on-year decline since 2000.Besides China, other countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have also tightened their requirements for recycling waste imports.between 2015 and 2019 had also dropped steadily.
In September 2021, it cost US$20,600 to ship a 40-foot container from China to America’s west coast, although this figure dropped to US$1,400 earlier this year, similar to pre-pandemic levels. In Singapore, recyclable waste is collected, sorted and sold to recyclers either locally or overseas, who will then convert the recycled items into new materials or products that they can sell.
“If there’s nobody who wants recycled materials, then clearly, nothing is going to justify a freight cost that is high for you to bring it to somewhere that nobody wants,” she said.
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