Ramping Up Recycling in Singapore

Abstract

In 2014, the Singapore government introduced an ambitious vision: for the country to work towards becoming a "Zero Waste Nation". With Singapore's only landfill predicted to reach full capacity around 2035, the National Environment Agency (NEA) faced the task of reducing the country's waste disposal needs through the practice of the 3Rs — reduce, reuse, recycle — and incinerating all remaining incinerable waste to reduce waste volume and landfill needs. Though incineration was straightforward, getting the public to practise the 3Rs was not. Domestic recycling was far from a widespread practice in the country. Though the agency had introduced the National Recycling Programme in 2001, providing recycling services to HDBs, landed properties, and some private condominiums, it had been a challenge to make recycling a social norm in Singaporean society. Recycling was an active endeavour that required individuals to invest extra effort into getting ri d of the ir trash, and the act brought few immediate or visible benefits to any one person. Furthermore, the public gains of recycling competed for attention with more immediate concerns, like convenience and economic growth. "It's very difficult to get people to recycle as a way of life," NEA Waste and Resource Management Department Deputy Director Vincent Teo said. It was unclear whether public education campaigns were sufficient for inculcating values that would truly incentivize the public to recycle, or whether a tougher stance was necessary. The NEA had to decide what to focus on to shift public behavioural norms and inculcate the personal values that would lead to more recycling in Singapore.