Recycling should start at home: Poll
DO NOT just rely on the authorities to take the lead in recycling. Instead, start doing your bit for the environment.
Go for a reusable shopping bag instead of loading up on plastic bags, and spread the recycling message around the neighbourhood, said readers on the Straits Times Interactive website.
And, in an STI poll on whether people would willingly sort their trash for recycling, 57 per cent of the 685 polled said they would.
The comments posted by over 40 readers on the latest drive to get Singaporeans to go green were mainly in favour of recycling.
"We cannot all sit back and say that the Government and the Singapore Environment Council are not creating awareness about recycling, said one posting from ‘fairley’.
"Let us do our part to spread the recycling message. Recycle at home, then teach our children and encourage our friends to join in. Talk to the neighbours and coI1ea~ues. Start the ball roiling,’ he said.
Another reader said that there are many excuses for not wanting to recycle —sorting garbage is time-consuming, troublesome and takes up space.
This is all the more reason to change the buy-and-throw mindset, he added.
Others said recycling actively could mean lower costs for households.
A reader was involved in recycling when he lived in Vancouver and Hawaii.
He said: "Residents in North America would go down to the trash-collection centre and dispose of recyclable items in their respective bins. It really is not difficult to do. The main thing is to get used to it.
"Land is scarce here and building a landfill is expensive. People have to start recycling to keep conservancy charges low."
Added reader Mohan mad Zabin: "Imagine what we can do if we all put in just a few minutes of our time to recycle. The cost rubbish disposal can be reduced and the funds can be channelled into education, elderly care or better medical care."
Readers also suggested using their own containers when buying food to cut down the use of disposal ones. This was the practice in the past, they said.
Supermarkets can also offer rebates to shoppers who bring their own carriers and who return glass or plastic bottles, they said.
However, not all Singaporeans were keen on going green.
One posting said that he became cynical about it after trash collected for recycling several years ago ended up in the incinerator.
Another said there would be a problem finding space to store recyclable items. But others had suggestions to overcome these obstacles.
"Think vertical," said one. "Fix hooks on the walls and hang bans for recyclable materials.’
While another reader added: "Don’t be impatient with the initial resistance. Hopefully, with education and a concerted effort by all, we can achieve a truly green society."
Source : The Sunday Times, Apr 01, 2001
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