Avoid Disposable Items

Disposable items such as plastic bags, plastic cutlery and batteries are thrown away after a single use. This is a waste of resources and creates unnecessary wastage. We should try to avoid buying and using disposable items if possible.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) to Reduce the Use of Plastic Bags
2. Avoid Disposable Plastic Containers and Cutlery
3. Avoid Using Individually Packaged Disposable Items
4. Use Rechargeable Batteries Instead of Normal Single-Use Batteries
5. Skip Gift Wrapping

1. Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) to Reduce the Use of Plastic Bags

In Singapore, we use about 2.5 billion plastic bags a year. Plastic bags are commonly used to bag our waste for disposal. However, excess plastic bags are thrown away as waste and are also often thrown away as litter, dirtying our streets and clogging up the drains.

Plastic bags that end up in the sea may also pose a threat to marine lives. In addition, plastic bags are made from oil, thus using up this non-renewable resource.

Support the Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) campaign and bring your own reusable bags for shopping and help to reduce the need for excessive plastic bags. Avoid taking excessive plastic bags and if you have excess plastic bags, consider reusing them for bagging refuse or giving them to others.

2. Avoid Disposable Plastic Containers and Cutlery

Make an effort to have your food at the food outlets or restaurants, and avoid takeaways using disposable plastic containers. If you often need to buy food back to your home or office, consider bringing your own reusable container, cutlery and bag instead of taking the disposable ones.

In addition, you can bring your own reusable cutlery to avoid using disposable cutlery when eating at food outlets and restaurants.

If you are organising an event, use non-disposable plates, cups and cutlery for your catered food. Ask the caterer to use chinaware or glassware instead. This helps to reduce the amount of waste from paper or plastic disposables.

3. Avoid Using Individually Packaged Disposable Items

When serving hot beverages, avoid the use of disposable stirrers and individually packaged sugar, milk and creamer. Use a spoon for stirring and place the sugar and milk in reusable containers or jugs.

Avoid using individual sachets of chilli or ketchup sauce. Store the sauce in reusable bottles and dispensers instead.

Avoid disposable bottled water or plastic cups in your office or event. You can switch to reusable water bottles and reusable plastic, ceramic or glass cups for water.

4. Use Rechargeable Batteries Instead of Normal Single-Use Batteries

Rechargeable AA and AAA batteries can be reused many times and this will help to reduce the disposal of normal single-use batteries. If 5% of the local population switched to rechargeable batteries, this would prevent the annual disposal of more one million single-use batteries (assuming each person throws away five batteries a year).

Switching to rechargeable batteries also helps to save money. A pack of four AA alkaline batteries costs about $3 and can be used once, whereas a pack of four rechargeable batteries and a charger costs about $30, and the batteries can be reused about 500 to 1,000 times. If you switch to rechargeable batteries and reuse them 10 times, the purchase cost between normal and rechargeable batteries would breakeven.

5. Skip Gift Wrapping

Consider skipping gift wrapping and put the gift in a reusable bag instead. Excessive paper wrappers are a hassle and usually end up as waste. What is inside is more important.

Choose Products with Less Packaging

Some products come with unnecessary plastic or paper packaging for aesthetic and advertising purposes, and these packaging usually end up as waste. You can choose products with less or no packaging, thus reducing the packaging wastage and cost.

The Problem of Packaging Waste

As more companies compete to advertise and promote their brands, they use all forms of media and excessive packaging. These unnecessary advertising and wasteful packaging are used to attract consumers to buy and use more. As Daniel Imhoff quotes in his book, Paper or Plastic:

Waste could result from a competitive “arms race” in which one company adopts larger, more elaborate packaging solely to compete with another company’s larger, more elaborate packaging, in the struggle to win the attention of consumers. Producers could misinterpret consumer acceptance of increasing levels of packaging as evidence of a desire for even more.

Excessive packaging often end up as waste. If the advertising campaigns are successful, more consumers buy and this result in more waste generated – the waste cycle continues.

What Can I Do?

Make a conscious effort to choose products with less packaging. By buying and supporting products with less packaging, you are sending a signal to the companies on the increasing demand of products that have minimal packaging.

Vote. And I don’t mean voting at a voting booth. Anybody of any age can vote because you vote every day that you pay for something. Every time you lay money down on the counter to buy something, you are saying that I approve of this object. I approve of how it was made, the materials that are in it, and what’s going to happen to it when I no longer need it and throw away. – Gloria Flora, Director of Sustainable Obtainable Solutions, in the film The 11th Hour

Can you influence companies to reduce their excessive packaging? Nowadays, companies have become increasingly aware of their corporate responsibility to the community and the environment. As a consumer, you can make use of this increasing awareness to feedback or remind companies to be more environmentally friendly and minimise their packaging waste.

Support the Singapore Packaging Agreement

You can support companies that are signatories to the Singapore Packaging Agreement. The voluntary Singapore Packaging Agreement came into effect on 1 July 2007 and companies that signed the Agreement will commit to reduce their packaging waste. Learn more about the Agreement and signatories at this NEA website. Show your support for the companies by buying their products.

If your company is interested in reducing packaging waste, you can also consider participating in the Agreement or seek help from the NEA.

Conduct a Waste Audit

If your company or organisation wishes to reduce the waste generated from your premises, you can first conduct a waste audit.

A waste audit involves finding out the type and quantity of waste generated, and how the waste are generated and disposed. This audit would help you to identify the problems and opportunities for waste reduction.

How to Conduct a Waste Audit

You can conduct a simple waste audit by:

• Sorting the waste in the waste bins to find out the waste type and quantity
• Checking the material purchasing records and waste disposal records to learn where the waste comes from and where it ends up
• Walking around the site and checking with the staff to identify where and how the waste are generated

With the data collected from the waste audit, you can identify the major waste types and find ways to reduce them at the source of generation or divert them from disposal through reuse and recycling.

Check with your suppliers and see whether there are opportunities to reduce their packaging or take back the packaging for reuse. You can also find out whether some of the waste can be given to someone who wants it or whether it can be sent for recycling. What is considered as waste to your company might become a resource for another company.

To find a recycling collector or someone who wants your waste, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

If You Need Help

Waste is not Waste provides consultancy services to help companies and organisations introduce an effective and sustainable recycling programme in their office. The scope of the recycling programme includes:

• Conduct a waste audit to establish baseline
• Source for recycling collectors and bins
• Educate staff on waste minimisation and recycling programme
• Monitor and review the programme

If you have enquiries on the services provided by Waste is not Waste, feel free to contact us.

Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has published a Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries to help companies reduce their waste and practise recycling. The guidebook contains information on how to conduct a waste audit, and also how to introduce a waste minimisation programme through tips and case studies. Visit the NEA website to download the guidebook.

Conduct a Waste Audit for Your Home

You can also follow the same steps above to conduct a simple waste audit for your home. Find out the waste types from your dustbin and try to find ways to minimise them. Can you reduce the waste by not buying them in the first place? Can you reuse the waste for another purpose? Can you recycle the waste?

Don’t Waste Food

Singaporeans waste a lot of food each year. In 2008, we threw away about 0.6 million tonnes of food waste and only 12% was recycled. We should not waste food and let’s try to find ways to reduce food wastage in our homes, for our events and for companies that produce food products.

Here’s a few tips:

For Homes

Before cooking, confirm the amount of food needed and plan the type of food to be cooked and how to cook the food. This helps you to prevent excessive food wastage.

You can also refer to the food storage chart from the AVA website to check some guidelines on how long you can keep your food in the refrigerator. By keeping to the food storage duration and temperature, you can reduce food spoilage.

For Events

Confirm the number of participants attending the event and their dietary requirements. This would help you to prepare or order the right amount of food. It might also be good to cater slightly less food (about 10 to 20 percent) than required so as to avoid unnecessary wastage.

Arrange for any leftover food to be given to the venue staff, event organiser or donate it to a charity. The leftover food should not be wasted.

For Food Companies

If your company has unsold or soon-to-be expired food products, you can sell them at a cheaper price before the expiry date to clear stock or donate the food products to schools, charitable organisations or anyone who wants them before the expiry date.

To find someone who wants your food products, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

You can also contact the following organisations:

A local non-profit organisation, Food from the Heart, collects unsold bread and pastries from bakeries and hotels and distributes them to welfare organisations, needy families and individuals.

There’s also a youth initiative, Food for All, that compiles a list of the food rations programmes in Singapore, and provides a food rations matching service to match food rations programmes with distributors and donors.

Start Recycling at Work

If your company or organisation already has a recycling programme, that’s good and you can recycle at work. If not, it’s time to start one now. Just follow our 6 steps to minimise waste and start recycling at work.

First, you would need to form a team and get commitment from your management and colleagues. Conduct a waste audit and find ways to minimise waste through reduce and reuse. Next, start a recycling programme and educate your staff on how to recycle. Finally, remember to gather feedback, review and improve your recycling programme.

1. Get Commitment and Form a Team

Highlight the benefits of waste minimisation and recycling to your management and colleagues, and get their commitment and support. Form a team to be in-charge of the waste minimisation and recycling programme, and ensure that resources are allocated to implement the programme.

2. Conduct a Waste Audit

A waste audit involves finding out the type and quantity of waste generated, and how the waste are generated and disposed. This audit would help you to identify the problems and opportunities for waste reduction. Learn how to conduct a waste audit.

3. Minimise Waste Through Reduce and Reuse

Based on the waste audit, identify the major waste types and find ways to minimise the waste generation. Reduce them at the source of generation or divert them from disposal through reuse. Refer to our Reduce and Reuse categories for ideas.

4. Set Up a Recycling Programme

After your waste minimisation efforts, identify the remaining waste that can be recycled. Find a recycling contractor to provide recycling bins and collection services. First, you can approach your current waste contractor and check whether they can provide recycling services.

For commercial buildings and industrial estates with recycling programmes, recycling bins or skips are usually placed at certain locations and the recyclables are collected by the recycling contractor.

To find a recycling collector or someone who wants your waste, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

5. Educate Staff on How to Recycle

Educate staff on the new recycling programme – the location of recycling bins, what can be recycled, and where the recyclables end up. The education could be conducted through events, talks and through posters.

6. Review and Improve

Gather feedback about the recycling programme from the staff and conduct checks on the recycling bins to ensure that the correct items are recycled. Monitor the amount of waste generated and recycled. Adjust and improve the recycling programme if necessary.

If You Need Help

Waste is not Waste provides consultancy services to help companies and organisations introduce an effective and sustainable recycling programme in their office. The scope of the recycling programme includes:

• Conduct a waste audit to establish baseline
• Source for recycling collectors and bins
• Educate staff on waste minimisation and recycling programme
• Monitor and review the programme

If you have enquiries on the services provided by Waste is not Waste, feel free to contact us.

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