Enact laws and policies to stimulate sustainable practices

The Singapore government should enact and implement laws and polices that stimulate sustainable practices in order to increase public awareness on the need to live sustainably. These policies could come in the form of fines, building of parks, making it harder to own cars. The Singapore government should ban the use of Styrofoam containers by retailers and individual use. It can also make legislation to make it inconvenient to be environmentally harmful. This can be done through taxes paid by the major pollution causing industries such as oil refinery companies and energy producing corporations. The higher the pollution they cause, the higher the tax they should have to bear. On top of that, companies who are investing in new renewable energy should be given tax breaks and subsidies and the innovation they provide would have substantially more external benefits in the future. These are some of the ways that sustainable practices can be encouraged by the Singapore government.

The government should create incentives to encourage the Singaporean public to change their behaviors. They will be more likely to do the ecological action if they expected a reward from doing it. One way to create incentives is to provide tax credits for energy efficiency retrofits and alternative energy generation such as solar and wind energy generation for individuals and corporations. Also there should be a system in place to make it more convenient for the public to exchange their plastic, glass and paper materials for a small profit so that recycling of materials is done more often by the domestic sector. Thus detailed policies on this matter can be carved out by the government and implemented in Singapore to increase awareness on the need to live sustainable and how imperative it is that all Singaporeans change their behaviors.

The Singapore government should also develop human capital by investing in the environmental sector more aggressively. Thus, creating a market for products that consume less energy and the human will to become an entrepreneur in the field. A point of reference could be the bill that was recently introduced in the California legislature to create a Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job Training program to expand a trained green labor force. A similar initiative could be minored in Singapore to expand the market and create a situation where there are readily available environmentally friendly alternatives to choose from. Human capital can also be developed through the education of the public. An educated public is the most effective way to change the behavior of Singaporeans. The responsibility of reducing the carbon footprint is often not taken upon the public’s hands because people don’t understand what measures to take. A clearer and more precise step by step explanation on what has to be done can be created by the government and distributed among the public to give them a guide to follow. This will create a situation where there is no excuse as to why Singaporeans cannot live sustainably due to awareness already being stimulated by the Singapore government.

References

Mark Posson (May. 19 2011) Promoting Sustainability Through Unconventional Government (May 2011)

Retrieved from:

http://www.thegreentie.org/voices/promoting-sustainability-through-unconventional-government

Open communication between the government and the people through talks and forums

There should be open and honest discourse between the public and the government on how to change the current situation of unsustainable living. Platforms such as public debates, online forums and talks should be created and well utilized by the government to hear what the public has to say. This will make it easier for the government to mitigate the challenges faced by citizens on living sustainably.

One example would be the problem of low recycling rates in Singapore due to the general public claiming that it takes too much time and effort to separate their trash and bring it down to the blue recycling dustbins located in every housing estate. Since the public are also unsure of how to use these government initiatives there should be a clearer manual on which product waste materials can be taken to the recycling bin and which has to be thrown away in general waste. These problems can be more readily addressed if there were open channels for citizens to give their feedback immediately when the policy initially was implemented.

One suggestion on how to make communication flow between the government and the public would be an online forum. This forum should be focused on sustainability alone so as to endure that the importance of sustainable living is highlighted. Currently there are forums online about the environment however they are limited in scope and is often one sided as the government does not respond to these post and comments. The government should run the forum and also be actively responding to questions and comments raised by Singaporeans on how to live more sustainably. This forum platform should be advertised through leaflets in HDB lifts or community centers to encourage public participation on the online forum. The best points raised by citizens could then be invited to a meet and greet talk session with the various relevant ministers. Together the government and the people can work together to find solutions and take initiatives to building a sustainable Singapore.

Government interaction with Citizens have been a one-way communication for a long time and now people are starting to dive into a two-way conversation on the internet (Rich, 2013). The media has a big role to play in opening up channels of communication between citizens and governments therefore the talks should be broadcasted online so it reaches as many Singaporeans as possible. The government should hear out the struggles of the everyday citizen of Singapore and mitigate the problems as quickly as possible. Delays in solving important issues such as uneducated public on how to use recycle bins will demoralize the public causing them to lose interest in living sustainably. The government should nip the problem in the bud and the only way to do so is to be aware of the issue, respond to the issue and work on a good solution to the issue. By communicating more frequently and getting information first hand from the public, the government can solve issues much faster and therefore encourage sustainable living more efficiently.

Sarah Rich (April. 5 2013) How to Improve Government-to-Citizen Communication (April. 2013)

Retrieved from:

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/How-to-Improve-Government-to-Citizen-Communication.html

Methods by which the Singapore Government can improve the situation by integrate people of all ages into the conversation of living sustainably

The Singapore government can improve the current societal norm of living wastefully by integrating people of all ages into the conversation of living sustainably. This could be done by making it “cool” to reduce, reuse and recycle among young children and teenagers. Adults can be encouraged to live sustainably by giving them economical benefits to living sustainably such as to pay for food waste or fines for overconsumption leading to waste and not recycling.

The youth in Singapore can play an important role in protecting and improving the environment. They can change their lifestyle and therefore influence how their actions affect the environment. Instead of watching mindless television and playing video games, youth can do some good for the environment with their time. In government schools, there should be classes and workshops to help raise awareness of the current situation of the world. The urgency of the need to change behaviors should be instilled in children from a young age. This can be done through education and exposure to current events that depict climate change and global warming. The pollution that is caused by human actions should be known by the young. This raising of awareness can be done by Ministry of Education (MOE) teachers. They can make their homes, schools and youth organizations more environmentally friendly and eco-friendly by adopting sustainable practices, recycling of different materials as well as preserving resources such as water and electricity (Acharya, 2013). By applying the greening knowledge at home and in schools, we can help to a market city, a greener city to the younger generations. Engaging youth in environmental protection not only creates a direct impact on changing youth behaviors and attitudes but also influences their parents, relatives, and families to follow suit.

Adults must be coerced into living sustainably because the soft approach taken currently by the Singaporean government is no showing results. Recycling rates have dropped and people are still refusing to do their part to reduce their waste, reuse old items and recycle. Thus the best and most effective way to enforce the need to live an environmentally friendly and eco-friendly lifestyle among the adults in Singapore is to introduce economic incentives to live sustainably. In order to reach the goal of zero waste, Singaporean should be made to pay fines for people who do not recycle waste. An example that can be followed by Singapore is France’s mandate that requires large grocery stores to donate all unused, but still edible, food to charity. Not doing so may result in fines and prison time (Collins, 2015). This example can be followed by Singapore to reduce the food wastage. In conclusion, a tougher stance has to be taken to encourage adults to change behaviors. Adults are more likely to be greener if they had an economic incentive to do so such as to avoid fines.

References

Ramchandra Acharya (Jun. 25 2013) Role of Youth for A Cleaner and Greener Environment (Jun. 2013)

Retrieved from:

http://www.ypard.net/2013-june-25/role-youth-cleaner-and-greener-environment

Wales (August. 20 2015) Fines possible for people who do not recycle waste (August. 2015)

Retrieved from:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-33986530

Eliza Collins (May. 22 2015) France food waste law comes with fines and prison time (May. 2015)

Retrieved from:

http://www.politico.eu/article/france-food-waste-law-comes-with-fines-and-prison-time/

Singapore as an unsustainable city, Ignorance and unawareness among the public about sustainable living

The majority of Singaporeans and ignorant and unaware on the need for sustainable living on the domestic level. This is plain to see in the percentage of residents who recycle which is a mere 19% in recent years and the numbers are staying stagnant. Singaporeans brush off the responsibility of living sustainability due to it being too inconvenient and time consuming and thus fail to change their behaviors according to sustainable living standards. On top of that, there is unawareness on how exactly to live sustainably and use government led initiatives the right way.

Singaporeans are unaware of how to recycle properly. In March 2015, The Straits Times reported that the domestic recycling rate fell to 19 per cent in 2014 from 22 per cent in 2010 which was explained by the NEA explaining the cause of the dip in recycling rate which was that the food waste output increase by 30% causing contamination of recyclables as the food waste is placed with recyclables (Tan, 2016). The efficient waste removal system of Singapore makes it too easy for Singaporeans to consume and discard and Singaporeans are generally ignorant and apathetic on waste issues as they do not give a thought to where their trash ends up (Cheam, 2016). Singaporeans barely frequently recycle anything apart from newspapers and were unaware of the need for recyclables to be rinsed and most of them claim to, “not bother.” (Cheam, 2016). This shows how neglectful Singaporeans are on the need to live sustainably as they lack the drive to recycle and care for the environment. They are more interested in their narrow immediate wants and neglect the long term negative impacts of their actions on the environment. The efficient waste disposal system is taken for granted in Singapore and used as a substitute for sorting and recycling trash.

                                       

Government efforts to encourage sustainable living are often ignored and not taken upon by the citizens. Singapore’s domestic recycling rate was 19 per cent in 2015, and the target is to bring this to 30 per cent by 2030 (Lim, 2016). Confusion over the use of the recycling bins has led to the misuse of them as a general waste bin. According to the NEA, materials that have been deposited into the recycling bins include non-recyclables, like pillows, soft toys and footwear and unfinished food and drinks which contaminate the other recyclables (Lim, 2016). Thus there is misuse of government funded environmental efforts exemplifying how sustainable living is championed by the government but not reciprocated by Singaporeans.

Singaporeans take the need to be eco friendly too lightly and fail to see the seriousness of their impact on the environment. An example of this would be a statement from Ong Beng Choo who said that old habits die hard when it comes to recycling. She claims that it is not that Singaporean don’t know how to recycle but that they don’t want to because it is troublesome (Boh, 2015). This shows that Singaporeans put their wants before the good of the environment. This may be because of a sense of entitlement bred by Singaporeans where they feel that their needs and wants come first. There is no sense of duty in Singaporeans that influences them to care more about the environment.

References

Audrey Tan (Apr. 30 2016) People recycling less despite government measures to encourage it (Apr. 2016)

Retrieved from:

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/people-recycling-less-despite-government-measures-to-encourage-it

Jessica Cheam (Jun. 17 2016) Aiming for a zero-waste Singapore (Jun.2016)

Retrieved from:

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/aiming-for-a-zero-waste-singapore

Samantha Boh (May. 15 2015) Bigger push to get Singaporeans to recycle (May. 2015)

Retrieved from:

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/bigger-push-to-get-singaporeans-to-recycle

Linette Lim (27. Jun 2016) Why is Singapore's household recycling rate stagnant? (Jun. 2016)

Retrieved from:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/why-is-singapore-s/2898850.html