Public invited to give feedback at dialogue sessions as part of Zero Waste Masterplan review
The World Café Dialogue on Reduce and Reuse will be held on Aug 29 and Sep 5.
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SINGAPORE: Members of the public are invited to contribute their ideas through two public dialogue sessions this year to encourage less waste and more reuse, as part of an ongoing review of Singapore's Zero Waste Masterplan.
Speaking at the launch of the National Environment Agency's (NEA) annual Say YES to Waste Less campaign on Friday (Jul 24), Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said the World Café Dialogue on Reduce and Reuse will touch on "the waste that we produce, the impact that it's having, and how we have programmes and efforts to reduce that waste".
The sessions will be held on Aug 29 and Sep 5.
"We're also looking for input from members of the public on the kind of waste reduction strategies they would like to see and they would like to participate in," he added.
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The dialogues "are going to be part of the start of the process where we review our Zero Waste Masterplan".
Those keen on participating can register their interest via an online form by Aug 14.
The master plan review, announced in June this year, will take stock of Singapore's progress since it was launched in 2019 and identify new ways to accelerate the country's shift towards a circular economy.
The review comes amid a decline in overall recycling rates and is expected to be completed in 2027.
This year's Say YES to Waste Less campaign, themed There's a Price to Waste, reflects both the environmental and financial costs of waste, Dr Puthucheary said.
"This year's theme ... is a timely reminder about the costs associated with our inappropriate production of waste. All the packaging, all the materials, everything that we consume requires resources, water, energy, materials. So if we consume inappropriately, the cost goes up.
"So we want to remind ourselves of that cost and what we can do to play our part in reducing that cost."
Twenty-eight new partners have joined this year's campaign, bringing initiatives to retail outlets, workplaces, schools and community spaces that range from encouraging reusable habits and reducing single-use plastics to improving food waste management and recycling.
Among the new participants are AIA Singapore, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, the Institute of Technical Education and Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Dr Puthucheary also noted that while Singapore has made progress in reducing domestic waste over the past decade, more still needs to be done.
Domestic waste refers to waste collected from households and trade premises such as shophouses, hawker centres and educational institutions.
"Domestic waste per person has reduced by about 21 per cent since 2015," he said. "That's an important foundation. It shows that our efforts at raising awareness are having an impact."
However, he noted that, each year, the amount of food waste that each person is responsible for "amounts to about 530 bowls of food per person".
"That's quite a lot of food waste that we are responsible for, so we can make better choices about how we consume," he urged.
"We have to keep reminding ourselves that we should continue to improve. We should work on the foundations that we have, the progress that we have made, build on the partnerships that we have."
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