ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH (AMENDMENT) BILL

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ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH (AMENDMENT) BILL: Order for Second Reading read.

3.04 pm

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob: Column: 233

Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, this Bill will amend the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) for the National Environment Agency (NEA) to empower the Director-General of Public Health to require, by notice in writing, the owner or occupier of any premises to provide recycling receptacles. In order to facilitate the set up of recycling receptacles in condominiums and private apartments, the Director-General will be issuing notices to the management councils and managing agents of condominiums and private apartments requiring them to provide recycling receptacles.

Impetus to mandate provision of recycling receptacles in condominiums and private apartments

Sir, the amount of solid waste generated in Singapore increased six-fold between 1970 and 2000. Since 2001, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and NEA have embarked on various waste minimisation and recycling programmes to reduce the amount of waste sent to our incineration plants and landfill for disposal. These measures, such as the National Recycling Programme (NRP) for households and recycling programmes for schools and industrial estates, have contributed towards reducing the total amount of waste disposed of from about 7,700 tonnes per day in 2001 to about 7,000 tonnes per day last year. This has helped to prolong the lifespan of our landfill and reduce our demand for incineration capacity.

To encourage recycling among households, the NEA's strategy is to provide households with easy access to recycling receptacles. Under the NRP for

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HDB and private landed houses, residents are provided with recycling bags or bins by the Public Waste Collectors, or PWCs, to store their recyclables. These recyclables are then collected door-to-door by the PWCs every fortnight on scheduled days. The provision of such recycling services is a requirement under the public waste collection contracts.

To complement the fortnightly collection of recyclables, about 1,600 sets of centralised recycling receptacles have been installed in all HDB estates as of 2007. Residents who do not wish to wait for the fortnightly collection can deposit their recyclables into these receptacles at their own convenience.

Sir, the NRP has provided 87% of households in Singapore with convenient access to recycling receptacles. The remaining 13%, comprising condominiums and private apartments (about 150,000 households) are not covered by the NRP. This is because condominiums and private apartments, as strata-titled properties, can choose their own waste collectors and decide whether they require their appointed waste collectors to provide recycling services in addition to the refuse collection services.

So, in order to facilitate the set up of recycling receptacles in these strata-titled properties, NEA has been working closely since 2002 with the condominium management councils, managing agents and their associations, such as the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) and the Association of Property and Facility Managers (APFM).

Despite these efforts, Sir, the participation rate has been low. Currently, only 38% of households in condominiums and private apartments have access to recycling receptacles within their estate ground. At the same

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time, NEA has been receiving an increasing number of requests for recycling receptacles from condominium and private apartment residents.

The NEA, therefore, proposes to mandate the provision of recycling receptacles in condominiums and private apartments. This would provide condominium and private apartment residents with convenient access to recycling depositories similar to the residents in HDB and private landed property estates. Feedback from major stakeholders such as the Association of Property and Facility Managers, Association of Management Corporations in Singapore (AMCIS), Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers and waste collectors indicates that they are generally supportive of the mandatory provision of recycling receptacles as this would allow them to more easily cater to residents' demand for recycling facilities.

Sir, the cost of providing the recycling receptacles is assessed to be manageable. The cost impact to each household depends on whether the management councils passed down the costs of providing the receptacles to residents, the number of dwelling units as well as other considerations such as the design and infrastructure within the estate.

The EPHA currently empowers the Director-General of Public Health to require, by notice in writing, the owner or occupier of any premises to provide refuse bin centres and receptacles within the designated premise. This Bill will insert a new subsection into the EPHA to empower the Director-General to also require the owners or occupiers to provide recycling receptacles on their premises. Concurrently, the Environment Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations will be amended to allow NEA to regulate licensed general waste

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collectors for the collection of recyclables within their designated premises.

Sir, the amendments to the Act and Regulations will come into effect by 1st November 2008. Subsequently, NEA will notify the management councils and managing agents of the condominiums and private apartments regarding the requirement to provide recycling receptacles within their estate premises. The implementation, Sir, will be carried out in phases, starting with the condominiums and private apartments with more than 50 units. All condominiums and private apartments will be given a six-month period from the date of notification to comply with the requirements. NEA expects the implementation to be completed by the last quarter of 2009.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

3.10 pm

Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to state my support for the amendments to be made to the sections stated in the Bill.

To me, the significance in amending this Act is the direction that Singapore must take as it charts its path towards a first world society. As we progress further towards this path, there is a greater need for us to change our mindsets to be more gracious and conscious to the environment to make Singapore a better place to live in.

This change in mindset would include how we manage our environment and the amendments proposed support this endeavour. The amendments would ensure that we take our efforts a step higher beyond just placing bins and participating in the recycling programme. It will ensure that creating a green and sustainable

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environment will be inculcated as part of our lifestyle; a habit of mind of Singaporeans.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as such, I would like to call on the House to continue promoting the message of adopting an environmental friendly mindset for all. Singaporeans should note that the Government could legislate and place receptacles at various locations in the country but we must change our mindset on how we manage our wastes, our efforts towards making Singapore clean, green and sustainable.

I would like support and thank the MEWR for its 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) initiatives. We should continue to promote this habit of the 3Rs and increase our recycling waste rates. I must confess that my wife and I are very much influenced by our children, aged 8 and 12, who are great supporters of recycling where they learnt these values and practices from their school. I have a special corner at my home where we will put aside items for recycling and my children will take charge of the recycling programme in our home. We need to ensure that this sustainable practice within the family continues to be developed and spread to more families, and ultimately to the nation.

I understand that developed nations such as Japan, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland have achieved high level of recycling rates, some as high as above 70% for the different categories of recyclable products. Where do Singapore stand now and what is our current target rate?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to propose that we press on with our efforts in this area. I would like to add further that we could also provide incentives for Singaporeans who make the conscious effort to recycle their wastes. This, I believe, would motivate Singaporeans

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from all walks of life to make a more conscious effort towards turning Singapore into a more environmental friendly city with a more sustainable development.

In relation to the amendment to section 10 of the Act, it seems to indicate that the Director-General will decide on the specifications of the receptacles and its location to be placed in the development. I would like to ask the Minister to clarify on some of the general guidelines in the proposed amendments, particularly on the location and the size of these receptacles.

Firstly, what is the estimated cost to residents to have recyling receptacles within their condominiums and private apartments? Will the Ministry be working to produce standardised receptacles so that it will be easier for the community to procure and help to reduce the implementation costs. If the Ministry is to require different premises to have different sized receptacles, then it has to bear in mind that under the current high cost of spaces, most businesses and residences would have maximised their spaces on their premises.

Further, I would like to ask the Minister what is the penalty for non-compliance with the Ministry's directive. Who will be deployed to police the premises to ensure compliance and what is the manpower required? Would the Government increase the provision of recycling bin to every HDB block instead of the current one bin to five blocks of flats as more than 80% of our population stays in HDB flats?

Finally, I would like to urge the Ministry to apply a consultative approach in its practices on the above as the owners or occupants of the development would be in a better position to advise and work with the Ministry on matters such as the best location to place the

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receptacles. In addition, it is better for such efforts to be co-driven by the occupants and owners to enhance the sense of ownership of the recycling programme among them.

Sir, on that note, I support the Bill.

3.15 pm

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank Dr Faishal for his comments. Dr Faishal has enquired about the factors which determine the specifications of the receptacles, given the size and activities of factories, offices and residences vary widely.

Sir, firstly, I would like to clarify that the EPH amendment only covers condominiums and private apartments. Dr Faishal has also sought clarifications on the general guidelines of the proposed amendments, such as on the size and location of the receptacles. I would like to share with the House that the recycling receptacles can either be in the form of bins or bags, as long as a sufficient number of receptacles with the necessary capacity is provided to prevent the overflowing of the recyclables at any point in time.

Secondly, Sir, the management councils and managing agents of condominiums and private apartments also have the flexibility to determine the location of receptacles as long as the receptacles are placed at common areas within the premises where residents find it convenient to access them.

On the cost impact, as explained earlier, our intention is to allow for flexibility in implementation of the new requirements, and we will not be working towards any standardised receptacles. The cost increase for mandating the provision of recycling receptacles is

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estimated to be about 1% to 5% of existing management fees or about $1.20 to $5 more per unit each month. The exact amount, Sir, would depend on whether the management council would pass down the cost increase to the residents, the size of the apartment blocks, the number of dwelling units as well as the design and infrastructure within the estate. The upfront cost of providing the recycling receptacles also depends on the quantity, size and material of the receptacles.

Just to give an example, Sir, a typical 660-litre recycling bin would cost about $300. However, some licensed general waste collectors may price the cost of providing receptacles into the recurring collection cost charged to the residents instead of charging for the receptacles upfront.

On the issue of enforcement, as enquired by Dr Faishal, NEA will be the enforcement authority and we are tentatively looking at a team of about three officers. After the initial phases of implementation, we are looking at reducing the manpower requirements for enforcement. Condominiums and private apartments which contravene the Act shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not exceeding $5,000, and we are looking into compounding the offence.

Sir, Dr Faishal also noted that the recycling rate in some developing countries is as high as 70%. In our case, with our limited land for landfills and incineration plants, recycling is an important component for a sustainable waste management system for Singapore. In 2007, our recycling rate was 54%. Our target is to achieve a recycling rate of 60% by 2012, as spelt out in our Green Plan.

As to the provision of recycling bins, Dr Faishal also pointed out that, at the moment, we provide centralised recycling

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depositories for every five blocks of HDB flats. He wants us to increase this. We are monitoring the results of this initiative to determine if we should further extend the provision. Since the installation in August last year, the centralised bins have been well used by our residents and, over the past month, the quantity of recyclables received at these depositories has gone up and is still on a rising trend. It rose from about 65 kilograms per depository per month in August 2007 to 98 kilograms per depository per month in June 2008. So we are on track and we will continue to monitor as to whether we need to increase the number of bins in the HDB blocks.

Sir, I think I have answered most of Dr Faishal's questions.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.