'Fine city' not enough for going green

By Dominic Nathan
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

PASSING tough laws and enforcing strict compliance with pollution standards have kept Singapore clean and green for 35 years, but the same approach will no longer be enough, said the Acting Environment Minister, Mr Lim Swee Say.

'While Singapore may continue to be a clean and green city for years to come, we will never be able to run away from this image of being a 'fine city', where we will always be doing things not out of personal commitment, but because we have to do so under the law.'

Enacting laws only stops people from doing what is illegal, and adopting such a strategy to achieve environmental sustainability will mean that the pace and progress of going green will be slow.

'Environmental sustainability goes far beyond what is illegal. It is about doing things which we believe in,' said Mr Lim in an interview last week to mark World Environment Day today.

To mark the occasion, the United Nations Environment Programme published a special edition of its magazine, Our Planet, for which Mr Lim was invited to pen an article on how Singapore manages its land-transport system in an environmentally sustainable way.

Just as radical and creative solutions like the vehicle quota system and road pricing were devised to keep Singapore congestion-free, a mindset change is needed in other areas to ensure that Singapore continues to achieve economic growth and social progress without harming the environment - as it has done for the past 35 years.

New solutions will have to be found to manage water, air and land resources in an 'end-to-end manner and, more importantly, to have the two ends linked as well', said Mr Lim.

Explaining how this would work for each of the three resources, he said:

• Water - As demand grows, instead of just adding to the supply, the authorities are now looking at how to recycle water instead, so that the same drop is used several times.
  
  This is already being tested. Treated sewage water is being purified for industrial use, possibly for wafer-fabrication plants.
     
• Air - Instead of controlling pollution from industrial smokestacks or vehicle exhaust pipes, efforts should be moved upstream, by conserving energy or using cleaner fuels or technologies.

  This way, instead of curing a problem, it is being prevented.

     

• Land - The focus had always been on incinerating solid waste, as this reduced the volume of rubbish by 80 to 85 per cent.

  Now, however, instead of concentrating on waste disposal, efforts are being made to reduce waste, through recycling either the products themselves or the raw materials.

  'And we are also looking at how we can close the loop by re-using the bottom ash in incinerators by turning it to a resource for use in secondary materials.'

  He added: 'A commitment has to be made to go green, not just by the Government, but it has to be a collective commitment by the people, public and private sectors.

  It cannot be imposed but has to evolve and be jointly embraced by all three sectors for a shared vision and joint ownership.'