Literature Review (Shaquille)

Each year, tons of waste are generated by us, the human race. In Singapore, the waste mostly end up in landfills, such as the Semakau Landfill, buried in the ground or in incinerators where the waste will be burned. Most people do not realise that the waste is connected with global climate change. Although part of the waste is recycled, prevention is always better than the cure. So with that said, we aim to urge Singaporeans to reduce their waste usage, and make the world a better place.

In Singapore, paper is the most common type of waste generated, about 1.26 million tonnes of paper in 2008. The elimination of the excessive use of paper and reducing of paper used should comply. Reducing the use of paper will lead to a smaller environmental impact as less energy and water will be consumed, thus there will be less pollution and less destruction to the forests and their biodiversity. There are several ways to reduce the use of paper. The ways are:

1. Avoid printing emails and web pages
2. Print or photocopy of both sides of paper
3. Avoid printing ATM receipts
4. Use cloth instead of paper towels
5. Read the news online

Avoid printing emails and web pages unnecessarily. Instead, just ‘bookmark’ the email or web pages for easy reference. While printing or photocopying multiple documents, print them back to back, thus maximising paper usage. If you are short of cash and need to withdraw some, there is particularly no reason to print it, only if you really have to. This also reduces the litter, as receipts are always spotted near ATMs. 

Spilling liquids is always a hassle and you need to clean up afterwards. Just use a rag or a t-shirt that you rarely use. You reduce the usage of paper towels, and reuse an old shirt. A win-win situation.Read news online. Some newspapers and magazines are available online and some even with no subscription fee. 

These ways of reducing waste are possible, and are also what we do in our daily lives. So, as long as we implement the steps and ways, we should be able to reduce the usage of paper in Singapore. 

Prevention is always better than the cure. So as said, recycling is always an option, whether you want to or not. But, some items are acceptable to recycle, while other are unacceptable. Here are the steps to start recycling: 

1. Learn about you recycling programme
2. Find out what you can recycle
3. Remember your recycling collection date

The three steps should be simple enough for any citizen of Singapore, young or elder. 

According to our research, statistics have shown that in 2000 to 2011, only 2% of total waste increased but the waste recycled increased by a staggering 117%. This shows that Singapore has already made huge progress on recycling and reducing waste. We feel that the organisations such as the National Environment Agency (NEA) and websites like zerowastesg.com have taken the waste usage in Singapore seriously, thus the great result. 

Sources: Zerowaste.sg
               National Environment Agency (NEA)