POLYSTYRENE CROCKERY (Problems of disposal)

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for the Environment whether his Ministry is aware that the disposable crockery used by hawkers, which is made of expandable polystyrene, is not easily disposable and when burnt in the open, can pollute the environment; how his Ministry proposes to solve the problem; and whether safer alternatives can be found.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment (Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng) (for the Minister for the Environment): Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister.

The disposable crockery made of expandable polystyrene used in hawker centres and other food centres should be disposed of properly and incinerated in our incineration plants. They cannot be burnt in the open. Open burning is an offence under the Clean Air Act of 1971.

When incinerated under controlled conditions at our incineration plants, the only end-products are carbon dioxide and water. There is no pollution to the environment.

Dr Ang Kok Peng (Buona Vista): Sir, I have two supplementary questions for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. First, has the Ministry conducted any survey to find out whether the disposable ware used by food hawkers and vendors in Singapore are of a quality that meets the safety specifications adopted by advanced countries such as the USA or UK? Secondly, some food hawkers are reusing these disposable wares which are not meant to be washed and reused. Does the Ministry contemplate taking any action against them?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the answer to the first question is yes. Among the various standards that we have looked at, two are worth mentioning. One is the United States Food and Drug Administration and the other is the FAO/WHO Expert Committee Standards. These bodies set standards which determine whether a disposable crockery made of expandable polystyrene is or is not food grade. Extensive tests are carried out by us in the Environment, and I am pleased to inform the Member that so far disposable crockery used by hawkers meet the standards of these two food authorities. They are therefore very safe for use.

On the other question of reusing disposable crockery, my Ministry views this practice very seriously. Any stallholder or any hawker who is caught reusing disposable crockery will be appropriately brought to task. Disposable crockery by its very nature means that it must be disposed of. It cannot be reused. There is no possibility, in fact, of disposable crockery being washed and reused because they are very flimsy. In fact, when we first introduced disposable crockery in hawker centres, there was already talk that hawkers were likely to reuse the disposable crockery. So from the very start, we were already very careful in our checks of hawker centres to make sure that this is not really the case. Here again, I would like to assure the Member for Buona Vista and the public that we have so far not caught or found any hawker reusing disposable crockery.