Time is running out for Semakau Landfill - Singapore's only landfill - which is expected to be filled up by 2035 (Recycle-Me-Not, April 18). A waste management policy needs to be rolled out immediately.

Some schools are inculcating among students the idea of upcycling rubbish into useful products.

Town councils and companies here should also embark on plans to encourage upcycling among local residents.

Rubbish such as wrappers, wooden pallets, carton boxes, bottles and clothes can be upcycled instead of being recycled.

Using upcycled products will not only reduce waste but can also spur the setting up of new businesses selling such products.

The National Environment Agency and waste-recycling companies could also adopt a system of getting residents to take certain recyclables, such as unwanted clothing, to a specific site on certain days.

Staff could be on site to oversee this.

Furniture or wooden pallets can also be set aside at certain sites, so that businesses such as renovation firms or upcycling companies can collect them, reuse them and upcycle them into new products for sale.

According to the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, 40 per cent of what is thrown into recycling bins cannot be recycled.

Going further to promote upcycling could instil in residents mindfulness not to waste things.

Rachel Tan Wee Cho