$1.3b dumping ground at Pulau Semakau
By
IMAGINE rubbish spread over 630 hectares, or 840 football fields, piled three storeys high.
That is the amount of ash and non-incinerable refuse it will take to fill up the new offshore landfill at Pulau Semakau, south of Pulau Bukom.
The $1.3 billion dumping ground will cover an area of 350 hectares and have a capacity of 63 million cubic metres.
Giving an update on the project on Wednesday, the Environment Minister, Mr Mah Bow Tan, said that although offshore dumping was very costly, it was necessary because there were no sites on the mainland which were suitable for landfilling.
The four-fold increase in the amount of waste thrown by Singaporeans over the last 20 years is another factor which makes a new and larger landfill necessary.
The Lorong Halus landfill, the last one on the mainland, is expected to be completely filled by 1998.
The 230-hectare site has been in use since the 1960s.
The Environment Ministry (ENV) is now working with other authorities to develop a land use plan for the Lorong Halus dumping ground.
An ENV spokesman said treatment of the land to stabilise it may take between five and 15 years, depending on what it is used for.
"Parks and recreational use will need a shorter treatment time compared to industrial use. Without treatment, 40 years or more will be required before the land can be used," he said.
Apart from taking up land which can be put to better use, a rising refuse load also means that you pay more for refuse disposal.
To control the cost of refuse disposal, Singaporeans will have to throw away less and recycle more.
Mr Mah noted that the response to education efforts and recycling projects in town councils so far had been "disappointing".
But he added that this was an indication of the need to step up efforts to educate and, if necessary, apply disincentives to minimise waste.
The Green Plan, to be announced soon, will include recommendations to tackle this.
Source : The Straits Times, September 25, 1993
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