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)
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Jessica Cheam (Jun. 17 2016) Aiming for a zero-waste Singapore (Jun.2016)
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Samantha Boh (May. 15 2015) Bigger push to get Singaporeans to recycle (May. 2015)
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Linette Lim (27. Jun 2016) Why is Singapore's household recycling rate stagnant? (Jun. 2016)
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/why-is-singapore-s/2898850.html
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