Singaporeans display a lack of understanding of sustainability through the wasting of resources such as food, water, plastic. A wastage of resources can also be seen through Singaporeans forking out huge amounts of money on items that are not within their budget or in the interest of living sustainably within their means. Examples of these items are cars, extravagant wedding banquets and wedding related expenses, renovations and new buildings.
There is a culture of waste that is perpetuated by Singaporeans. Singapore is a capitalist country and celebrates free trade with other countries. This status has brought on the epidemic of a society driven by materialism and consumerism (Sim, 2015). Materialism is the preoccupation with material objects, comforts, and considerations. Consumerism is the concept that an ever-expanding consumption of goods is advantageous to the Singaporean economy. Both these terms can be attributed to the society in Singapore. Material and consumerism is prevalent in Singaporeans as ideas that “more is better” and “the newer, the better.” Singaporeans buy new things without having a real need for them. These leads to clothes thrown out that are never worn. This could have been avoided if we did not acquire items we have no need of in the first place. Singaporeans are also ignorant about the implications of waste. No consideration goes into what it took to produce the good or how it gets disposed of (Chua).
The culture of waste can be seen through certain actions that are done by Singaporeans. When a new apartment or house is bought, renovations are done immediately and lights and tiles which are still serviceable are replaced by new ones (Chuan, 2015). Another example of waste of a perfectly good infrastructural asset is the rebuilt National Stadium which remains clean and pristine from underuse. While we are impressed by it, few Singaporeans get to see the inside of it because few events are staged there. Meanwhile, the more modest neighborhood facilities, which are no less functional, get a lot more bookings. Can we call it the “National Stadium” if everyday Singaporeans cannot relate to it? Perhaps ego got the better of Singapore citizens (Chuan, 2015).
Singaporeans also create wastage of resources by following societal norms that are unproductive in helping save the environment. One of the biggest events in a Singaporean’s life is their weddings. Singaporeans spend obscene amounts of money on hotel wedding banquets out of pressure from their parents, significant others and society as a whole. Singaporeans still love paying exorbitant prices to pile their plates high with food, only to leave with bulging bellies and regrets that they overate (Poh, 2011). This results in huge wastage of food and resources that could be channeled to better use. These are examples of how Singaporeans are wasteful and give no thought on how their actions are affecting the planet adversely.
References
Walter Sim (Jul. 24 2015) Singaporeans see virtues like compassion in themselves but view society as materialistic (Jul. 2015)
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Celestine Chua Our Culture of Waste: Why We Should Stop Wasting (and How to Prevent Waste)
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Joanne Poh (Oct. 24 2015) 4 Singaporean habits that are a complete waste of money (Oct. 2015)
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Joanne Poh (May. 11 2015) 3 Common Inflexible Beliefs That Make Singaporeans Spend More Money (May. 2015)
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