Waste Statistics in Singapore

As can be seen from the diagrams, waste is becoming a pertinent problem for Singapore. Here are some recent statistics regarding waste that will help to illustrate this point. As Singapore is becoming increasingly developed, naturally, its level of waste generated will increase. However as can be seen from the chart, the rate at which the waste is increasing is alarming (reaching 8 million tonnes a year in 2003!!!). 

This is due, not only to industrial waste, but also due to individual and household consumption, which is also rapidly on the rise. One redeeming factor is that we are also recycling more waste. However, this cannot keep up with the rate of waste increase, and more can be done to help recycling efforts.

Due to limited land space, Singapore cannot fully rely on landfill, and must send waste to its incineration plants. We will elaborate more on these processes later. Among the materials being disposed (bottom 2 charts), the type of material of waste also plays an important role. We would especially like to highlight plastics as the largest percentage of waste (at 24%). Plastics are non-biodegradable materials, and hence, have many severe impacts toward many living organisms, as well as the environment. We will also look into the specifics of the damaging effects of plastics.