FACTORS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE DECISION FOR NEW WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Waste disposal facility is considered a crucial infrastructure for all countries. Having a proper waste disposal facility allows the country to dispose their waste in a proper manner without resorting to ways that could potentially harm the environment and the people and ecosystem living nearby. Depending on the needs, financial ability and requirement of the countries with respect to their waste management strategy, they may adopt different method for their waste disposal facility. For Singapore, incineration is the main waste disposal method since 1978. Landfill is considered a luxury for Singapore, and hence it became a priority to prolong the lifespan of the existing landfill for as long as possible. As Singapore continues to progress, new waste disposal facility will be required to replace older facility to ensure the continual capacity to meet the waste generated. This is important so that waste disposal operation is not affected by the lack of waste disposal facilities. At present, Singapore will be looking at planning a new waste disposal facility to replace the aging Tuas Incineration Plant. The loss of Tuas Incineration Plant will create a shortage in terms of overall waste disposal capacity, and hence a new waste disposal facility has to be build and operational before Tuas Incineration Plant is de-commission. The journey towards building a waste disposal facility is long and lengthy with many factors and issues required to be taken into consideration. Some of these factors can be directly linked to the waste disposal facility, i.e. type of technology, while others might be linked to other issues, such as financial or education levels. Nevertheless, these factors still plays an important part in the decision to build a waste disposal facility, This dissertation attempts to identify the requirement in terms of waste disposal for the near future. This is followed by addressing the main factors and issues that will influence the decision on building of a new waste disposal facility, which is based on the requirement identified. Lastly, recommendations will be made on how the main factors and issues can be improved in order to meet the requirement identified.