Forum: An alternative solution to blue recycling bins
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The blue recycling bins in our estates have become “dirt elephants”, often filled with food waste, rubbish and even diapers. Once contaminated, the contents can no longer be recycled.
I would like to suggest an alternative solution.
Recyclables can be kept at home, cleaned and dried. A recycling truck can come weekly or fortnightly on fixed dates. The schedule can be clearly posted inside lifts and at lobbies, so residents know exactly when to bring their recyclables down.
Unrecyclable rubbish can go down the general rubbish chute.
As for food waste, disposers can be installed in HDB kitchens to grind waste at the sink and wash it down safely into the sewage system.
This is not radical – many cities already do it. South Korea enforces household food waste separation, while in the US, garbage disposals are standard in kitchens. Japan has strict separation by collection dates. Why should Singapore lag behind?
Let’s lead with action, not more posters.
Foo Siang Yian
