Pay as you throw system to limit household waste?

[VteckiCk]

A National Environment Agency (NEA) official has raised the possibility that Singapore residents may in future be asked to "pay as you throw", as part of efforts to monitor and limit rubbish dumped by households.

 

This could involve bin chutes that use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track how much waste any one household produces, he said at a major sustainability conference on Tuesday.

 

"We are working on a trial to track the number of times a household opens a rubbish chute hatch, with each opening accepting only a fixed volume of waste," said Mr Cheang Kok Chung, director of the NEA's department for environmental protection policy and international relations.

 

"(There is a) glaring lack of a 'pay as you throw' element in the (waste disposal) fee," Mr Cheang said, adding that Singapore's ubiquitous rubbish chutes made it very difficult to implement a "pay as you throw" system using prepaid waste bags.

 

He was speaking at a presentation during the 2019 Sustainable Innovation Expo in Nairobi, Kenya. The Expo is being held on the sidelines of the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly meeting.

 

Each HDB household currently pays $8.25 a month for waste regardless of the amount thrown away. With this new scheme, some might end up paying less.

 

Said Mr Cheang: "Hopefully (the trial) works and the next time we can report that we are a bit closer to the 'user-pay principle' tax."

 

If there are monitoring systems like RFID tags, people might be motivated to throw less rubbish indiscriminately, which would mean less rubbish landing up in Semakau, Singapore's only landfill.

 

According to the latest figures, about 200,000 tonnes of solid waste and all incineration ash are sent to the landfill annually.

 

At this rate, Semakau will be filled to the brim by 2035. It was envisaged earlier that the landfill, when it first opened in 1999, would last until 2046.

 

Singapore currently has the technology to use RFID tags on bins.

 

According to reports in 2016, recycling collection crews could scan RFID tags on recycling bins upon collection for recyclables to be tracked in a system.

 

It is not impossible to implement such a project.

 

The "pay as you throw" principle has worked in other countries.

 

In South Korea, for example, households can buy designated bags to dispose of their trash, or take it to centralised RFID food waste and rubbish bins.

 

There, the trash will be weighed and the household billed accordingly.

 

The NEA told The Straits Times yesterday that there are currently no plans to introduce pay-as-you-throw RFID waste disposal systems in Singapore.

 

"Building on lessons from past trials and other countries' experience, the National Environment Agency is constantly exploring ways to incentivise households to reduce the amount of waste disposed of," an NEA spokesman said.

 

"There is no current plan to implement a pay-as-you-throw RFID waste disposal system," the spokesman added.

[Kopites]

Which mean eveyour day I will need to packet all the rubbishes back to the office. We have contractor coming in to clear per truck load.

[Wt_know]

next ... erp on throwing rubbish

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i will throw rubbish at 1-2am to avoid extra charge

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the one and only solution to every single problem is “tax, tax and more tax”

really???

Edited March 17, 2019 by Wt_know

[Ender]

Singapore is not civic minded to implement this. If have to pay, they probably dump it elsewhere when nobody is looking. Worst still is dump at other people's doorstep.

[Inlinefour]

Void deck rubbish bin will be flooded 

[Ender]

Void deck rubbish bin will be flooded

Sengkang flat had common chute per floor. Don't know which neighbor of ours, too lazy to step on the open chute trigger and left their plastic of rubbish on the floor near it. Without implement pay as you use, already got people refuse to open the chute. Edited March 17, 2019 by Ender

[SuPerBoRed]

As usual.. instead of encouraging by rewarding.. we get fines to get public ‘in line’

Edited March 17, 2019 by SuPerBoRed

[Inlinefour]

Sengkang flat had common chute per floor. Don't know which neighbor of ours, too lazy to step on the open chute trigger and left their plastic of rubbish on the floor near it. Without implement pay as you use, already got people refuse to open the chute.

 

My block more strange...all throw inside letterbox rubbish bin...I dont understand why

 

Bring all the way down staircase but dont wanna use common chute

[Atonchia]

Sengkang flat had common chute per floor. Don't know which neighbor of ours, too lazy to step on the open chute trigger and left their plastic of rubbish on the floor near it. Without implement pay as you use, already got people refuse to open the chute.

I ever had a neighbour who is friendly but never realise his household actually throw food waste directly down the common chute.

 

All stained.........

Hope the NEA sensor can detect waste

[13177]

My block more strange...all throw inside letterbox rubbish bin...I dont understand why

 

Bring all the way down staircase but dont wanna use common chute

Those old flat where rubbish chute is inside the house, saw before people bring down their rubbish and throw at the bin downstairs near the lift landing.

[Kusje]

Again thinking about collecting more $.

 

Jialat.

[Wt_know]

it’s time to collect back whole chicken

 

Again thinking about collecting more $.

Jialat.

[Kb27]

time for more $400k rubbish chute ?

[Vid]

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

 

Learn to use less plastics (bags, straw, cups, lids, etc...)

 

Learn to reuse, BYOB to supermarket is a good place to start.

 

Teach people to separate rubbish for recycling. I have recycling bins near my lift where people will put in paper, plastic bottles, glass bottles and metal cans into different bins.

 

Not everything is about money.

[Kangadrool]

Now preparing for the eventual implementation.

 

Those old flat where rubbish chute is inside the house, saw before people bring down their rubbish and throw at the bin downstairs near the lift landing.

 

[Volvobrick]

If serious then should start by banning bottled water. It is ridiculous waste of money and generates tremendous waste.

 

Make it compulsory to provide free water at all F and B outlets.

[Thaiyotakamli]

Sure this system u will pay less? More likely its a hike in disguise

[Kopites]

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

 

Learn to use less plastics (bags, straw, cups, lids, etc...)

 

Learn to reuse, BYOB to supermarket is a good place to start.

 

Teach people to separate rubbish for recycling. I have recycling bins near my lift where people will put in paper, plastic bottles, glass bottles and metal cans into different bins.

 

Not everything is about money.

My area got one big Blue bin with three stickers. Platic,paper and general.

 

 

My son asked me..

Papa we separated plastic bottle from cupboard at home. Now why we put them all into one bin. In bewilderment glance at my son..I told him. The stickers is for the ccompany annual iso audit. Environmental responsibility. I doubt he can understand.