This is the second part of the prize-winning essay by Tan Guan Yu, written for the course Asia Now! The Archaeology of the Future City. In every Calendar Year, Tembusu College awards prizes for the Best Essay, Best Creative Work and Best Miscellaneous Work to recognise the intellectual achievements of Tembusu students in the University Town College Programme (UTCP). This work was the winner of the Best Essay Prize for the Calendar Year 2022
INTRODUCTION: REMAKING A PLASTIC NATION
“Plastic pollution here and there. In the city, on the beaches. The menace is still growing strong.” (Ogundiran, 2023). While this verse in Beating Plastic Pollution serves as a poignant reminder that plastic pollution remains a national challenge Singapore must face to materialize her Zero Waste Master Plan, a “prerequisite of sustainable cities is sustainable use of the global hinterland” (Rees and Wackernagel, 1996, p.236). Apart from the continuous push to synergize multi-stakeholder collaboration in plastic waste management and promote “alternative hedonism” (Meissner, 2019, p.189) as illustrated in Part 1, the Singapore government should set sights beyond its shores and draw learning points from other urban nodes worldwide to refine her plastic waste management practices.
TAIWAN: FROM GARBAGE ISLAND TO RECYCLING CHAMPION
Lauded as one of Asia’s economic tigers, the island-nation of Taiwan has seen remarkable progress in its economic growth since the 1970s. While industries in Taiwan have been booming for decades, waste generation continues to escalate at unprecedented rates. According to Ngo (2020), up to 90% of the waste collected in the 1990s was going straight into landfills which were already operating at full capacity. By the end of the 20th century, more than 400 landfills had mushroomed across the island, earning Taiwan the unpleasant nickname of a ‘garbage island’. However, in recent decades, this garbage island has been recognised globally as a model for recycling through its well-crafted enforcing policy to address municipal solid waste in metropolitan areas like the capital city of Taipei.
A comparative study between Singapore and Taipei is plausible for the following reasons. Firstly, both cities share similar beliefs in having a “developmental or ‘hard’ state” (Huff, 1999, p.214) which places economic development as imperative. With a strong commitment to economic growth, municipal waste generation is likely to become an inevitable by-product of development which both cities must urgently grapple with. Secondly, Hian (2021) states that Singapore and Taipei share a largely comparable population size and density. Given the densely populated nature of both cities, additional landfill sites in both land-scarce urban areas may not be a viable option. By shedding light on Taipei’s successful municipal waste management and collection policy, Singapore, possessing similar characteristics, can look to Taipei and too become a poster child for sustainable plastic waste management.
TAIPEI’S ENFORCING WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY
According to Chen and Huong (2004, p.512), Taiwan has been actively shaping its solid waste management policies to deal with “front-end preventions” such as restricting plastic waste generation and promoting resource recycling. On the enforcement end, Taipei has been actively promoting plastic waste minimization through mandatory use of certified trash bags and measures on per-bag collection fee (Chen and Huong, 2004). According to legislation, residents must procure special blue ‘City of Taipei’ garbage bags to dispose of their general waste. As stated by Taipei’s Department of Environmental Protection, the smallest 3-liters designated garbage bag costs 21 NTD (c. 89 Singapore cents) while the largest 120-liters bag costs 216 NTD (c. S$9.10). On the other hand, no charge is levied on bags used to recycle plastic waste. By enforcing the polluter-pays principle on its residents, the zero-plastic crusade led by the municipal government has seen recycling rates exceeding 62% in 2017 (Sung et al., 2020). As an overt quantitative metric to measure a city’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of resource extraction, Taipei’s high recycling rate warrants the city to be the waste management par excellence.
Although there are numerous blue recycling bins dotting Singapore’s urban landscape, the city is only recycling a minute fraction of its plastic waste: 6% in 2017 (Singapore Environmental Council, 2018). To convert recycling awareness into action, Singapore can learn from Taipei and implement piece-rate charges on waste disposal bags to complement its recycling infrastructure (blue bins), instilling a desire to produce less waste and recycle more.
WASTE MANAGEMENT: A LIVEABILITY-SUSTAINABILITY NEXUS
Traditionally, Newton (2012) posits liveability as antithetical to environmental- sustainability because cities with high livability ratings often embark on unsustainable rates of resource consumption. However, in the case of Taipei, its novel waste collection procedure kills two birds with one stone. Affectionately known as the city’s ‘liveliest communal rites’ (So, 2017), Taipei’s singing, canary-yellow garbage trucks whiz through the city’s neighborhoods five times a week, blaring Beethoven’s classical piece Für Elise, which serves as a signal for garbage collection. Residents line the streets with their blue ‘City of Taipei’ bags and catch a rare glimpse of their neighbors, striking up a conversation or two. Beyond the intended purpose of policy-makers ensuring urbanites are directly responsible for their waste production, an indirect outcome of promoting conviviality within neighborhoods is achieved. Drawing on Mumford’s (1937, p.92) characterisation of the city as a “theater of social action”, this surprisingly social activity of waste disposal provides a transient platform for people to strengthen urban solidarity and a sense of “relatedness” (Amin, 2007, p.1015) towards one another.
While I applaud Singapore’s efficient and technocratic manner of collecting waste via a central chute which is conspicuously cleared by large garbage trucks in the mornings, Taipei epitomizes how waste management can simultaneously promote environmental-sustainability, by placing residents fully responsible for their waste production, and liveability, through fostering a spontaneous “public culture of care” (Amin, 2007, p.1017). As cities gradually manifest into a “pecuniary-nexus” (Wirth, 1938, p.13) plagued with impersonal and distant social contacts, I believe a little compromise on convenience in waste management can potentially deepen hi-bye relationships and help Singapore go a long way in fostering more liveable neighborhoods.
CONCLUSION: MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES
In summation, this reflective two-part article is a call to action for discerning stakeholders (public, private and people) to work hand-in-hand and combat the omnipresent problem of mounting plastic waste. Statistics from the Singapore City Gallery is a stark reminder of the highly unsustainable levels of waste generated by people on this little red dot which is already taking a severe toll on Singapore’s one and only landfill. While Singapore has a largely robust and comprehensive plastic waste management framework, there is still much room to learn from our global counterparts. Nevertheless, the crux of the matter lies in the hands of individual consumers like myself to make the right choice. Can we differentiate a need from want? Can we purchase quality over quantity? Can we start by recycling one plastic bottle a day? While these questions may seem trivial, they are ultimately the fundamental building blocks for Singapore to truly become a Zero Waste Nation.
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