*_mei ni_*
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Portfolio Task 6.1: Comparison of Waste Disposal Schemes in Singapore
While most people may express concern over discussion topics revolving around human’s health and diseases, the peril of mounting waste being disposed in the existing environment rarely seems to be of significance. Solid waste constitutes to a major impact on the environment. Left alone, it is fetid and unsightly. Furthermore, it poses a threat to public health, as well as the ecology. With the escalating rate in waste generation and limiting land area, waste minimization serves as a challenge to Singapore. Therefore, several approaches such as the use of incinerators, landfills and recycling projects are being adopted.
The waste management strategies adopted in Singapore are based on volume reduction through incineration and also, reusing and recycling in order to reduce the waste disposal at incinerators and landfills. With the restriction on land area for landfills, Singapore is more dependent on incineration. No doubt that incineration is able to reduce large volumes of incinerable waste; the process of waste destruction still produces ashes and pollutants. These ashes need to be deposited at landfills, and costly devices have to be installed to ensure that pollutants do not add to the effect of air pollution. Thus, strong emphasis is placed on recycling projects that help to reduce the amount of incinerated waste.
In the last 30 years, a six-fold increase in waste generation has been observed and this is clearly not sustainable for a small country like Singapore (National Environment Agency, 2005). The possibility of having more incinerators or landfills to handle the ever increasing amount of waste is very unlikely as they do not serve as long term solutions. Hence, the government stresses on the efforts of the public on waste recycle and minimization. Under this approach, not only that each individual get to play a vital role in conserving the environment, but it also seems as a promising solution for waste minimization.
In conclusion, having landfills and incinerators undoubtedly contribute to waste reduction, but they are not feasible under long-term. Each individual has to be educated on the act and importance of recycling. There is an old saying that goes: “If only a man could see with his own eyes the harmful effects smoking does to his body, he will not smoke”. In analogy, if man could see for himself the after effects of neglecting the environment, he will do whatever it takes to preserve the environment.
References
National Environment Agency. (2005). Towards Environmental Sustainability: State of the Environment 2005 Report. Retrieved October 28, 2008, from http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/ccird/soe/soe_chap3.pdf
The waste management strategies adopted in Singapore are based on volume reduction through incineration and also, reusing and recycling in order to reduce the waste disposal at incinerators and landfills. With the restriction on land area for landfills, Singapore is more dependent on incineration. No doubt that incineration is able to reduce large volumes of incinerable waste; the process of waste destruction still produces ashes and pollutants. These ashes need to be deposited at landfills, and costly devices have to be installed to ensure that pollutants do not add to the effect of air pollution. Thus, strong emphasis is placed on recycling projects that help to reduce the amount of incinerated waste.
In the last 30 years, a six-fold increase in waste generation has been observed and this is clearly not sustainable for a small country like Singapore (National Environment Agency, 2005). The possibility of having more incinerators or landfills to handle the ever increasing amount of waste is very unlikely as they do not serve as long term solutions. Hence, the government stresses on the efforts of the public on waste recycle and minimization. Under this approach, not only that each individual get to play a vital role in conserving the environment, but it also seems as a promising solution for waste minimization.
In conclusion, having landfills and incinerators undoubtedly contribute to waste reduction, but they are not feasible under long-term. Each individual has to be educated on the act and importance of recycling. There is an old saying that goes: “If only a man could see with his own eyes the harmful effects smoking does to his body, he will not smoke”. In analogy, if man could see for himself the after effects of neglecting the environment, he will do whatever it takes to preserve the environment.
References
National Environment Agency. (2005). Towards Environmental Sustainability: State of the Environment 2005 Report. Retrieved October 28, 2008, from http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/ccird/soe/soe_chap3.pdf
posted by *_mei ni_* at 10:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home