I refer to the article "Domestic recycling rate dips to 19% despite 'Go Green' push", from The Straits Times, Thursday, March 26, 2015.
Summary
Singapore residents are recycling less despite the push to encourage people to go green, including equipping each public housing block with a recycling bin. The domestic recycling rate fell to 19% last year from 22% in 2010, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said. The drop was due to a 30% increase in food waste output over the period. This has caused concerns among environmentalists, who say more needs to be done to engage and educate residents.
Personal Response
In this article, I agree with Mr Eugene Heng, founder and chairman of green group Waterways Watch Society, saying that, "Education is a slow process - if people are not aware of the benefits of recycling, there is no incentive for them to do so." I feel that yes, it is important to recycle, we all know that. But in fact, I feel that the world has to even recycle more. Reason being, if we don't recycle, waste like non-biodegradable plastic would increase and this would occupy even more land spaces and they would always have a limit to it, besides more resources have to be used to produce even more things as there is little recycling. Most importantly, we must know the real reason behind recycling. If people fail to understand this, there is no point in recycling. Recycling is actually the key to reducing the impact on the environment. We recycle is to do our part to reduce waste. For example, I do my part in recycling in school, by recycling unwanted newspaper and bottle caps or tabs. I feel that if everyone does our little part to aid recycling, the pollution and negative impacts would decrease. Thus, everyone has to put in their effort, not only to recycle, but learn the purpose of it.
Therefore, I agree with the environmentalists' point of views - to engage and educate residents more.
Kenneth Kwan 2B (30)
I agree with you on the point that by recycling, we would reduce waste and save land space. By saving land space, we could use the land space to actually build more houses to accommodate Singapore's ever increasing population. The land space would be put to good use and not used for waste only. You also mentioned that we should educate the people more and teach them how to recycle. By doing so, the next generation of Singaporeans will recycle more and the amount of waste will lessen. Another method that could help with the waste problem is to place more recycling bins around neighborhoods, such that people could easily recycle and not need to walk very far to recycle. It would make the people more willing to recycle. Lets work together towards a greener Singapore.
ReplyDeleteI think that recycling is very important and more people should start taking actions to save the Earth. Many of us are unaware of the effects of global warming on the Earth for the past few decades and maybe this is why not many of us are not taking action. Some might think that recycling requires a lot of effort, however, we can start small by recycling things like can tabs and bottle caps. This way, we can still do our part to save the Earth.
ReplyDeleteI share your concerns about conservation of the environment particularly through recycling. It is a good idea to make it more convenient for people to make recycling a part of their lifestyle. In addition to recycling, I think it is important for us to reduce the amount of waste we produce. One reason for increasing waste is the rate of over-consumption today. With increases materialism and affluence, people tend to buy and throw. Education may be a slow process, but it is a mission that has to be taken. If there is a sustained effort in raising the awareness of the issues among the people, there may yet be hope for Mother Earth to survive for many more years for future generations.
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