Zero waste and a green NDP are possible

“Look daddy, there is so much rubbish in the sea,” exclaimed my daughter. We were on the way to the opening of the turtle hatchery on Sisters’ Islands and the rubbish my daughter Ella was talking about was mostly plastic bottles floating in the water near Marina South Pier and along our boat ride there. It was quite a disheartening sight.

We need to do something urgently to tackle this plastic waste problem before it becomes too late. 

I raised this issue in Parliament less than a year ago, calling for a move towards a plastic-lite Singapore. I urged the public service to take the lead and eliminate single-use plastics from their catering and events. 

I also asked that for National Day Parade (NDP) 2019, we use only reusable items with minimal packaging. “I hope we start this practice at Singapore’s biggest party, our National Day Parade. This year’s NDP fun pack contained many plastic items individually wrapped in more plastic, and even an NDP 2018 plastic bag for each person to bag their waste,” I said. 

“If NDP 2019 were to use only reusable items with minimal packaging, it would send a strong signal that our nation is committed to building a sustainable world.”

We are now a month away from NDP 2019 and I am glad that it has been announced that this year’s NDP funpack has more reusable items and less single-use items. It is a step forward and I thank the NDP organising committee for this. 

However, the single-use plastic bottle and the plastic bag are still in the funpack. This means that we will be giving out 175,000 single-use plastic bottles and 175,000 plastic bags. That is a lot of waste that will be generated in a year the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources designated as the “Year towards Zero Waste”. 

The Government has also asked Singaporeans to start their #SayYEStoWasteLess journey by bringing their own reusable bags, bottles and takeaway containers, with a rather compelling video showing the amount of disposables we discard. A Facepost post on the video says:  

“Our disposables problem is growing bigger and bigger, but who's going to pay for it? Let's keep Singapore green for future generations.”

I truly believe that we can have a green NDP and hope this happens for NDP 2020. We can do away with the single-use plastic bottles and plastic bags. 

I suggest that we try asking people to bring their own bottles and have water dispensers around for people to fill up them up. 

If we really have to, we can provide a nice reusable bottle that people can reuse even after the parade. But let’s ask them if they need it. 

When people submit their application for the NDP tickets, they can indicate whether they will need a reusable bottle and we can use this chance to urge people to bring their own. We can take it one step further by asking people if they want a funpack in the first place. This will help prevent wastage and I hope that we can try this for NDP 2020.  

There might be concern about cost. This month in Parliament, I raised the issue of whether a reusable water bottle could be provided for the NDP funpack instead of a single-use plastic bottle. The reply was that reusable bottles was considered but not implemented due to the issue of cost. 

In the short-term, we might save some money by using single-use items, which are indeed cheaper. 

Protecting the environment can be costly at times. However, we need to think more long-term. These are actually savings from all the money we have to spend trying to reverse all the harm we have done to this planet. We are already spending millions tackling rising temperatures and sea levels, not forgetting the healthcare costs associated with climate change.

It may be more convenient to use single-use items but we will pay a heavy price for destroying this planet we call home.

The provision of a plastic bag in each NDP funpack is likely for convenience sake. But is it necessary?

I didn't use the plastic bag provided at the NDP last year because I put all my trash into the potato chips bag. It was big enough.

This year and I’m sure next year, we will be giving out potato chips again so why can't we use that potato chips bag for our trash? Is there a need to put that big potato chip bag into a plastic bag to throw away into a bigger plastic trash bag? 

I am not saying that we can completely do away with plastic bags in Singapore. There are many occasions where we need to use a plastic bag, for example when throwing our trash at home into the rubbish chute.

But we should use plastic bags only when absolutely necessary, and not merely for convenience.

Many Singaporeans support this move towards zero waste. They have shared many useful suggestions and comments on my Facebook posts, on how we can and we must have a green NDP. I will share their suggestions in Parliament and hope they get implemented for NDP 2020.    

A move towards zero waste in Singapore is possible. We have to do this not just for the environment but also for our own survival. 

It is also not just the NDP that has to go green. We all do. I’ve started my #SayYEStoWasteLess journey. I carry my water bottle everywhere and use a reusable shopping bag. 

In Nee Soon East, the constituency I serve in, we have launched a two-year zero waste masterplan. In the last three months, we have not used single-use cutlery, plates or cups for the events we have organised at the Nee Soon East Community Club.  

Ella has started her #SayYEStoWasteLess journey too. I’m proud of this little girl who understands why we don’t use straws or single-use plastic bottles and importantly, she tells people about it. We are off to do another beach cleanup at the end of this month and I’m sure we are going to see a lot of plastic on our shores. 

We cannot carry on this throwaway culture. I hope you will also start your #SayYEStoWasteLess journey now. Together, we can make Singapore a Zero Waste Nation. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Louis Ng is a Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency and Chairman of Nee Soon Town Council. He is also founder and chief executive of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, an animal welfare group commonly known as Acres.