Name: Lam Jing Jie Bryan
Class: 1G
Group: 3
Other group members: Ivan Lee, Justin Lee, Nicholas Loh, Leong Chi Yu
Teacher Mentor: Yeo Puay Hong
Date of submission: 18 July 2012
Wastage- Are the middle-income families living in Bishan doing
anything to reduce the amount of food that they waste?
What exactly is defined by “Food waste”? Food waste basically means to throw away
unwanted food. Or, in a more formal context, Food waste is “food loss occurring during the
retail and final consumption stages due to the behaviour of retailers and consumers.”
(Wikipedia- Definition of food waste (United Nations)).
Food waste is an increasing problem in Singapore. It was one of the top five waste
types generated and makes up a staggering 10% of waste that was generated in 2011. It was
also one of the top three waste types that were disposed in Singapore with a whopping 21%
out of the total composition. But even so, the recycling rate of food was very low and had
even decreased as compared to 2010 and is likely to remain low over the next few years.
The problem of food waste is very real in Singapore and little action is taken to reduce
or recycle the amount of food waste. Therefore, finding out what middle-class income
families are doing to reduce the amount of food waste they produce will not only promote
public awareness regarding food waste, but it just might as well provide a solution in regard
to reducing or recycling food waste for Singapore.
1. Framing your research topic
a) Examine some possible reasons why middle-income families in
Bishan face this particular problem?
One possible is that some parents do not know the severity of the problem of
food wastage in Singapore and might choose to overlook it as a result. Another
possible reason is that more people now are better-off and sometimes they might
buy more food than needed. Because of their irresponsible actions, they might not
be able to finish all their food that they had bought and this leads them to throw
the excess food away as a result.
b) Examine possible solutions to overcome this problem?
The most obvious solution is to of course try to increase public awareness on
food wastage and try to change the public perception of food wastage- that is,
food wastage is just a minor problem and there is no cause of worry. If we are able
to convince the public that food wastage is a major problem, we will able to
persuade them to start reducing the amount of food that they waste and this in turn
will not only benefit the environment but it will also help to reduce the operating
cause of recycling food wastage as there is now less food to recycle. Another
solution is to impose rules or penalties (e.g. having to pay more money if you
waste food in restaurants and to also charge people more money if they take more
than they can finish) to various eateries and restaurants. One such case is that
McDonald’s had imposed a rule stating that if you take more nugget sauce than
you are allowed to, you will be charged an extra thirty-cents.
(www.channelnewsasia.com- The sauce of an outcry)
2. Reasons for choice of topic:
a) Why have you chosen this topic?
Food wastage is a major problem in Singapore and I feel that there is a great
need to investigate further on this problem so that this problem can be reduced.
Also, this problem affects not only Singaporeans but also a world as a whole.
Therefore, I hope that if our group is able to come out with an effective solution to
this problem, we can also introduce this measure to other various countries as well
so that they can also benefit from it.
b) How does it enable you to fulfill the requirements of the project task?
This project topic is not too broad but focused and has a reasonable scope as
Bishan has many middle-income families that we can interview regarding this
topic.
c) (i) How does this topic benefit your chosen group of people?
They will be able to gain more insights and knowledge regarding food wastage
and this will benefit them in reducing the amount of food that they waste. Also,
they might also be able to save more money as they might learn to buy only food
that they need and in turn, they might wind up saving more money because of that.
3. Feasibility of the project:
a) Is there a need for your research in the first place?
Yes, there is a need. With the decrease in the recycling of food waste from 16%
in 2010 to 10% in 2011, accompanied with the fact that there are yet any concrete
plans to recycle food waste by the government and various authorities, I think that
there is a need to step up and do what we can to reduce the amount of food
wasted.(zerowaste-27/03/12singapore-waste-statistics) Through this research, we
will be able to create public awareness regarding this issue and also search for
solutions or methods that will be able to help reduce food wastage.
b) Will it be possible to actually carry out and complete this project?
Why do you think so?
I think it is possible to carry out and complete this project. Since our
targeted group is middle-income families living in Bishan, there will be no
problem in getting the people we need for our interview and also the information
that we need to complete this project
c) Is your proposed course of action logical and realistic?
Yes it is. Since the people that we are interviewing are easily accessible, we
are able to collect information that we need for this project more efficiently and
effectively within a reasonable time frame. Also, we can just search for other
possible interviewees if our interviewees could not show up on the designated day
of interview.
d) How does your project provide sufficient opportunity for
(i)
generation of ideas, and
(ii) analysis and evaluation of ideas?
As this project is focused on a large community, we will be able to gather
differing opinions and information and this will lead us to think about a general
idea of what the middle-income residents in Bishan are doing and with different
ideas and opinions, we will thus have more opportunities to analyze and evaluate
the ideas that are generated.
4. Manageability of the project:
a) How will the project be handled (e.g. timeline)?
We will first submit our PIs and then our GPP. Then we will conduct a Social
Survey Report on week 6-7. We will also conduct an interview and then hand up a
report on it on the 1st week of Term 4. Lastly, we will do an oral assessment and
then hand in our final report in Term 4 Week 3.
b) How does the project sufficient opportunity for group work?
With many various things to do, the group will be able to split into two teams
and with these two teams; we will divide our workload accordingly. This will provide
a chance for everyone to participate actively in the group. Also, we will once again
have plenty of opportunities for project meetings that will also enable everyone to
participate actively on the group.
c) Do you anticipate difficulties/constraints? How do you intend to cope
with these difficulties/constraints?
Yes, we will indeed face some difficulties and constraints during the course of
our project. Due to the fact that we are in Secondary 1 now, our workload has
increased very much and there are now numerous extracurricular programs that
we have to attend. Therefore we will have clashing schedule and it will be hard for
us to meet up or discuss about anything regarding this project. I intend to use
social media, especially wiki space as a medium for communication. This will not
only make everything easier, but it will also be more efficient and productive.
5. Accessibility of the information required:
a) What areas of information/ knowledge will be relevant to your project?
Books, the internet and also the interview with the middle-income
families in Bishan are all relevant to the topic and ultimately the project. These
will help us along the course of our entire project and hence it is a very
important aspect of the project.
b) How will you obtain this information-from primary or secondary
sources?
I will obtain this information from primary sources as I feel that having
information from primary sources is more reliable and trustworthy.
c) What alternatives have you thought about?
An alternative will be via web-research and also from books. Through this, we
will still be able to have a rough idea on what the middle-income residents at
Bishan are doing to reduce food wastage.
d) What problems do you anticipate in gathering your materials?
I think that the residents might be uncooperative with us during the interview.
This will pose as a problem as it will waste a lot of our time, leading us to become
unproductive and inefficient.
Reference
Amanda Lee, A. (2012, June 28). The sauce of an outcry. Retrieved from
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/121038
2/1/.html
Eugene Tay, E. (2012, March 27). Singapore waste statistics 2011.
Retrieved from http://www.zerowastesg.com/2012/03/27/singapore-wastestatistics-2011/
Waste Generated refers to the total amount of waste generated in Singapore, which is the
addition of Waste Disposed and Waste Recycled. Waste Disposed refers to the total amount
of waste disposed at the four waste-to-energy or incineration plants, and at the offshore
Semakau Landfill. Waste Recycled refers to the total amount of waste that is recycled locally
or exported overseas for recycling.
In 2011, about 6.9 million tonnes of waste was generated in Singapore, and each person
generated around 1,330 kg of waste in a year. The recycling rate in Singapore for 2011 is 59%
(58% in 2010), and has been increasing steadily over the years. The government has set a
target of 60% recycling rate by 2012 in the Singapore Green Plan 2012, and 70% recycling
rate by 2030 in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.
41% of Singapore’s waste is still disposed of, with 38% going to the waste-to-energy plants
for incineration and energy recovery, and 3% of non-incinerable waste such as construction
and demolition waste, used slag and treated sludge, going to the Semakau Landfill for
landfilling.
% Composition of Waste Generated
The top 5 waste types make up 76% of the total waste generated in Singapore, which are
either disposed of at the waste-to-energy plants and landfill, or recycled locally and exported:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Paper/Cardboard (20%)
Ferrous Metal (18%)
Construction Debris (17%)
Plastics (11%)
Food Waste (10%)
% Composition of Waste Disposed
The top 3 waste types make up 65% of the total waste disposed in Singapore:
1. Plastics (23%)
2. Food Waste (21%)
3. Paper/Cardboard (21%)
% Composition of Waste Recycled
The top 3 waste types make up 77% of the total waste recycled in Singapore:
1. Construction Debris (29%)
2. Ferrous Metal (29%)
3. Paper/Cardboard (19%)
Recycling Rate of Waste
For the 3 common types of waste disposed, the recycling rate for plastics and food waste is
still low:

Food Waste (10%)


Plastics (11%)
Paper/Cardboard (56%)
More efforts are needed to reduce the amount of plastics and food waste disposed and to
increase their recycling rates. The recycling rate for plastics in 2011 is the same as 2010, and
more can be done to educate Singaporeans on reducing the use of plastics and the recycling
of plastic waste. The National Environment Agency (NEA) is likely to miss the target of 35%
recycling rate for plastics by 2012, set in the Singapore Green Plan 2012.
The recycling rate for food waste has dropped from 16% in 2010 to 10% in 2011. This is
likely due to the closing down of IUT Global last year, which was recycling food waste into
biogas and compost. There is currently no news of the setting up of new food waste recycling
plants, nor is there any food waste reduction campaign by the NEA. Without any concrete
plans to reduce or recycle food waste, the food waste recycling rate would remain low over
the next few years, and NEA is likely to miss the target of 30% recycling rate for food waste
by 2012, set in the Singapore Green Plan 2012.
For paper, the recycling rate is 56% in 2011. NEA has met the target of 55% recycling rate
for paper by 2012, set in the Singapore Green Plan 2012. Nevertheless, there is still room to
recycle more paper, as 44% of the paper and cardboard waste generated still ends up being
burned at the waste-to-energy plants.
Waste Statistics from 2000 to 2011
From 2000 to 2011, the waste disposed has increased by only 2% but the waste recycled has
increased by a massive 117%. The total waste generated has increased by 48% from 4.6
million tonnes in 2000 to 6.9 million tonnes in 2011.
The waste data show that the efforts of the government in promoting waste recycling has paid
off. However, waste generated has been increasing steadily since 2003. To work towards zero
waste, there is a need for the total waste generated to reach a peak and decrease every year.
This means that we can’t depend only on high rates of recycling but we also need greater
reduction in the waste disposed, in other words, more reduce and reuse of waste. Recycling is
still the least effective of the 3 Rs and should be practised last after reduce and reuse.