INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY IN SINGAPORE : AN ALTERNATIVE PARADIGM FOR SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Using nature as model, industrial ecology (IE) espouses greening industrial systems by cycling waste as much as possible to create a closed system by studying interactions between system components instead of focusing on just one component. Industry is a key figure in the IE dialogue that is both part of the problem as well as the solution. This paper presents IE as an alternative ecological paradigm for industrial development and waste management in Singapore, displacing the prevailing economic paradigm of one-way throughput material and energy flows. Regulatory reform and removal of impediments in spatial planning were identified as key areas for creating a conducive environment for IE concepts which have the most placed-based focus, eco-industrial development and industrial symbiosis, to concretize. The island context of Singapore being a manageable unit of study, is ideal as a case study of implementing an island-wide eco-industrial network.