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Bill on plastic bag charge tabled, shoppers to pay 5 cents or more at most supermarkets from mid-2023 SINGAPORE – From mid-2023, shoppers at most supermarkets will need to pay at least five cents for each disposable carrier bag. Two-thirds of all supermarket outlets in Singapore – including NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong and Prime – will impose the charge on all materials of disposable bags, including plastic and paper. The upcoming carrier bag charge is among several proposed amendments to the Resource Sustainability Act tabled in Parliament on Monday. The aim of the proposed changes is to reduce packaging and food waste in Singapore. Only 6 per cent of all plastic waste was recycled in Singapore in 2021. The carrier bag charge was first announced in early 2022. The larger supermarket operators that will carry the charge have an annual turnover of more than $100 million and are better resourced to implement the requirements. But smaller operators are encouraged to voluntarily implement their own bag charges, and many such retailers have already done so, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) in a joint statement on Monday. These include The Body Shop as well as Cheers and FairPrice Xpress outlets, which started charging 10 cents for plastic bags per transaction in 2022. “The minimum charge has been kept low to moderate the cost impact on shoppers, while encouraging them to be mindful of the number of disposable carrier bags they take,” the agencies said. For accountability and transparency in the use of the carrier bag charge proceeds, supermarket operators will be required to publish information on the number of bags given to shoppers, the amount of proceeds received from the charge and how the proceeds are used, such as for the support of charitable or environmental causes, they added. In furthering the recycling rate of drink bottles and cans by mid-2024, each beverage will likely cost 10 cents to 20 cents more. This deposit can be refunded when consumers return their used bottles and cans. This is part of the proposed beverage container return scheme. The refund will likely be in the form of a cash or digital transfer, and beverage container return points will be set up at all supermarkets that are larger than 200 sq m. For instance, more than 130 FairPrice stores will participate in the scheme, said a spokesman for the supermarket chain. A public consultation on the proposed return scheme, which had a report published in late 2022, proposed that the scheme include containers that are between 150ml and 3 litres. The bulk of the used cans and bottles is likely to be returned through smart reverse vending machines. The scheme will also support the development of Singapore’s recycling industry, noted NEA and MSE. As part of efforts to tackle food waste, industrial and commercial premises will be required to segregate their food waste, also starting in 2024. These buildings account for about 40 per cent of the food waste generated each year. They will also be required to measure and report the amount of food waste they have segregated for treatment. In 2021, Singapore generated 817,000 tonnes of food waste, of which 19 per cent was recycled. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/carrier-bag-charge-at-larger-supermarkets-to-begin-in-mid-2023

Disclaimer: I don't hold anything against freegans, but if they are overly desperate in hunting for free stuff and even work lesser, the line may be crossed. If everyone stop spending, will the world not stop moving? Afterall, all these free stuff come for someone else pocket, and I wonder if taboo applies to these group of "free" thinker. Commentary: Living in Singapore doesn't have to be so expensive when you're a freegan https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/freegan-food-rescue-waste-lifestyle-cost-living-sustainability-2753251 SINGAPORE: With the cost of food and petrol increasing on a weekly basis, every conversation with friends is sure to touch on inflation. Sometimes I am shy to admit I have not felt it at all, because my expenses have not increased in the past five years. Yet life has only gotten more abundant. At home, our fridge is full of fresh vegetables and fruits, sourced from food rescues where we collect “ugly” but edible produce from shopkeepers. Our cupboards are full of canned food and condiments, gathered from cafes and restaurants that have shut down. We have more soap and shampoo than some provision shops stock, enough for maybe a decade of use. We have a brand new CorningWare gifted from a family after spring cleaning and a Rommelsbacher 40L oven picked up from a void deck. As freegans, we collect things other people no longer want, to reuse or repurpose for our own needs. We limit our participation in the conventional economy as much as we can to save the environment and our expenses. Freeganism originated in San Francisco in the 1990s and has since spread globally. Our Facebook group Freegan In Singapore has grown to 10,000 members since I co-founded the movement in 2017. Alongside the growing popularity of freeganism is rising concern about our carbon and waste footprint. According to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies published in 2021, three in five Singaporeans believe protecting the environment should be prioritised over economic growth. However, making more sustainable choices is not always cheap. Vegan and fair-trade foods and clothes tend to be more expensive than their regular counterparts. So are electric cars, even with incentives and rebates. But the freegan lifestyle marries sustainable and frugal living through its emphasis on reducing consumption. Each item you buy comes from a long supply chain that uses up resources and produces waste at every stage, even if those products are sustainably sourced. Take for example an audio store owner whom I recently met. He needs to keep a surplus stock of earphones to provide exchanges for customers claiming their warranty. After a few years as warranty periods lapse, the remaining stock is discarded. That’s how I ended up receiving a hundred boxes of brand-new earphones. Multiply this by the number of businesses in Singapore, big and small, and it’s no wonder the country’s non-domestic sector generated 5.12 million tonnes of waste in 2021. But freegans don’t always strive to cut waste out of a passion for the environment. Some have a much more pragmatic reason – to reduce personal expenditure. I used to spend S$2,000 a month in my pre-freegan days. Now my necessary monthly expenses have dropped to just S$350, including insurance. As I eat mainly rescued food, I’ve lowered my food costs from $500 a month to zero, not counting the occasional birthday treat at a restaurant for a loved one. I am also a lot healthier as the variety of food I eat has expanded. I don’t remember when I last stepped into a shopping mall because I’ve been able to get items on my wishlist for free. What I spend on entertainment has plummeted because all my favourite leisure activities cost nothing: Communing with nature, visiting our island’s many parks and beaches, volunteering with social causes, and enjoying meals made from rescued food with friends. My one luxury is travelling. Before the pandemic, I was travelling five to six times a year – much more frequently compared to the one or two yearly trips in my pre-freegan days. This was due to having not only more disposable income but more free time. Because freegans spend less, we aren’t as pressured to earn more. Full-timers become part-timers. Dual-income households become single-income. Some choose to retire early, like I did three years ago. Freegans believe the price of making money is too costly, because we buy money with our limited time alive. Think about it: In any kind of paid work, you are exchanging your lifetime for cash. Some squander it on impulse purchases, meaning they need to spend more lifetime to earn more money. I would rather spend four to five hours of my lifetime each week collecting things I need than spend 40 to 50 hours each week earning money to buy the very same things. With that time saved, freegans can focus on activities that matter to them. This could be making art or writing, growing plants to beautify the surroundings and improve mental health, or building communities where members look out for each other. We rediscover the hobbies we enjoyed before a money-centric world taught us we had to monetise what we like to do or drop it. We no longer sell irreplaceable lifetime to buy replaceable material goods. When so many things we need can be acquired for free, there is little else we absolutely need to spend money on – meaning that the cost of living in Singapore doesn’t have to be sky high. What many people find expensive could be the cost of lifestyle instead.

https://mksh.com/what-is-terramation/

plastic bags and other container i can understand but no straw and cup lids? they probably need more cleaners to clean up more mess.

The truth? The lies? Are we blindly jumping on the bandwagon and dropping off the cliff? Be careful who we are sleeping with. I think its a good time to watch this long video and make our own judgement. We can wake up or we can say its all bulls**t.

Safety Moment is a tool, used by some companies, to maintain a high level of awareness towards Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) issues, often in relation to the company operations. It involve the sharing of an EHS topic, usually by safety representative within the team, prior to the start of a work shift and/or meeting. To make it effective, such briefing / discussion are kept short and sharp (typically lasting just 1 - 3 minutes), with the aim of recognizing hazards and risks, reinforcing the importance of health and safety, and get everyone gearing towards a positive safety culture. I think it will be useful for MCF to have one, and let me start the ball rolling. Topic for today: Do not leave the engine of your vehicle running when it is stationary In accordance to section 21 of Environmental Protection and Management (Vehicular Emissions) Regulations, vehicle driver shall stop the engine, when the vehicle is stationary for reasons other than traffic conditions. Failing to do so shall constitute to an offence under the said regulations. While it might look like the authority (NEA) is finding fault with motorist, but in reality, leaving the engine on for an extended period have the following impact: 1) Polluting the environment (running engine emit harmful pollutants such as Hydrocarbons, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, as well as Particulate Matter) 2) Create health issue for other road users and general public in the vicinity (prolong inhaling of pollutants stated above may have adverse health effect over an extended period of time) 3) Depleting natural resources (continuous burning of fuel) So please do our part, switch off the engine when waiting, to protect the environment and people around us.

As a car lover, I seriously don't know if I should laugh or cry. Former ‘Top Gear’ host Jeremy Clarkson says ‘idiot’ climate activist Greta Thunberg has killed the car show Jeremy Clarkson blames “idiot” climate change activist Greta Thunberg for killing the car show. The former Top Gear presenter, who is returning with another series of Amazon Prime motor series The Grand Tour, claimed young people have been turned against cars by the 16-year-old environmental campaigner. Clarkson, 59, told The Sun: “Everyone I know under 25 isn’t the slightest bit interested in cars – Greta Thunberg has killed the car show. “They’re taught at school, before they say ‘Mummy and Daddy’, that cars are evil, and it’s in their heads.” He added: “She’s an idiot. Going round saying we’re all going to die, that’s not going to solve anything, my dear.” The Grand Tour co-presenter Richard Hammond, 49, agreed: “I hate to say it, but I think Jeremy is right. “Young people don’t care about cars. How many kids now are growing up with posters of cars on their bedroom wall?” But Clarkson conceded that global warming was “definitely a thing”. Clarkson did stipulate in The Sun’s interview that he and his famous colleagues were taking climate change more seriously. The latest season of “The Grand Tour” sees the hosts Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May not only discuss climate change as they attempt to sail across Vietnam’s Mekong River during dry weather conditions but also opt to cycle instead of drive. “For the first time ever, we’ve had global warming rammed down our throats – and we’ve not been idiotic, it’s very definitely a thing.” He added: “The question is, what to do about it?”

Hi, wondering if anyone here park before at the environment building at scott road before?

Hello, Thank you for your interest in this post. Any expert in shipyard industry with lots is exposure of their car in spraying painting and sand blasting environment can advice if these glass coating and protective film is of any use. If do glasscoating can still Claybar or what more advance thing to remove the paint stick on to the car paint. The good old car cover has it limitation.

http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/10/15/environment-ngo-head-suspended-from-official-duties/ I like these people commented in Facebook. They sums things up. Look like Ms Loh also need to be suspended for investigation to see if she got anyhow abuse her power.

Got a friend that is contemplating buying a car but is a bit put off by the high cost of owning a car nowadays. After he read about carpooling and that he could probably defray his cost by at least a few hundreds he is abit more assured now. With a baby coming his way, he wasn't too sure if he could afford the additional expense but the availability of carpooling makes it more viable for him now. Just thinking that maybe we should do more carpooling not just to save the environment but also for the cost savings that it entails. Anybody here has got any good experience to share so far?

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/video/rat-infestation-blankets-ground-near-224930374.html Another symptom of deteriorating living environment with the wholesale import of people..... and people sleeping on the job until kena face-booked.

Source: The Straits Times HAVING more greenery does not always help to protect against climate change, a team of Singapore scientists has found. A three-year study in Telok Kurau yielded the surprising fact that the greenery there emits more carbon dioxide (CO2) than it absorbs, the scientists said. While the plants, trees and grass in the neighbourhood take in more CO2 than they give out, the soil they grow on also emits the gas. Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Smart) research scientist Erik Velasco said the vegetation types in Telok Kurau were part of the problem. Turfgrass and palm trees make up about 30 per cent of the greenery, but these absorb less CO2 due to their small biomass compared with larger, woody trees, he said. Hence, the net effect is that the greenery there contributes to, rather than reduces, emissions to the atmosphere. The study suggests that to better reduce CO2 emissions and protect against climate change, "large trees should not be replaced by young trees and palms, as is the tendency along secondary roads in Singapore". The larger trees would better offset the soil's CO2 emissions. Soil's CO2 emissions also need to be studied further, said Dr Velasco. The scientists' work started in 2010 and was published in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics science journal last month. They were from Smart and the National University of Singapore (NUS). According to the research paper, they chose Telok Kurau because the low-rise buildings there make it easier to measure CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. NUS built a 21m-tall tower there in 2006 to track CO2 floating from the ground. The scientists got CO2 measurements from the tower. They also did their own estimates by getting data about the area's population, traffic, soil, buildings and vegetation from the authorities and through manual surveys. This data was compared to previous research on CO2 emissions and the relationship between trees and the gas, to come up with the estimates. Dr Velasco stressed, however, that the Telok Kurau findings cannot be extrapolated to the whole of Singapore due to the wide variety in building and vegetation types, and more research is needed. "But it shows that green spaces can act as emission sources rather than CO2 sinks, as is widely believed."

You would never think that a single plant could solve most of the world's problems, well it can. Hemp has over 50,000 uses, everything from clothes, medicine, fabrics, fuel and more, hemp is definitely a large threat to a variety of corporations that control energy, health and a number of other industries. Many corporations would see a decline in profit if hemp were to be legalised. One in particular is the automobile industry. The world's most eco-friendly car, the Kestrel, was designed in Canada by Calgary-based Motive Industries Inc. Unlike the United States government, the Canadian government is open to hemp farming and actively supports the hemp industry and its potential benefit for us and our environment. The body of the car is completely impact-resistant and made entirely out of hemp. Now, when we think of cars, we think of gasoline, steel, pollution, etc. Even though we have had some innovative and visually pleasing cars on the road today, it is difficult to ignore the sheer environmental impact that modern cars create. The Kestrel’s hemp composite body shell passed its crash test in excellent form. Unlike steel, the panels bounce back into shape after impact. Hemp also has the same mechanical properties as glass but is even lighter which help to boost fuel efficiency. The Kestrel has a top speed of 90km/h and a range of approximately 160km before needing to be recharged. It’s powered by a motor made by TM4 Electrodynamic Systems, a Quebec based company. The car weighs in at approximately 1,134kg, and has a very affordable price, given the fact that hemp is very easy to grow and requires nothing but the sun. It fits four passengers and the production version of it was supposed to be available this year, but since the unveiling of it a couple of years ago, everything has become quiet.

Hope this will pass on to any cancer patients. True or not, no harm trying since it is better to believe it than nothing. Alkaline Diet for Cancer: Cancer Cells Cannot Survive In an Alkaline Environment Maintaining a diet that promotes an alkaline pH within the body is good protection against cancer. When a person eats this kind of diet, the natural pH balance will lean more towards the alkaline side of the scale, instead of the acid level of the scale. Unfortunately, all too often a person

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44230562/ns/wo...ld_environment/

Every driver is aware of Sinkie land's UNIQUE driving conditions because of our UNIQUE PAP govt. Its definitely not designed for performance cars which cannot tolerate long idling times in blistering heat, and average speeds of 30kph on our expressways....So what kind of car is best suited for our UNIQUE driving environment? You may consider the below as part of our driving environment; a) During the day time 90% of the so called "expressways" r so clogged up the average crusing speed is 40-60kph....if u r lucky u hit 80kph when u overtake for afew secs. b) And its worse on small roads...every 100m there is traffic light...every 200m there is a speed bump...and on the left had side there buslane with PAP agents stationed to take photos of cars "intruding" onto the buslane....This is so stupid because on several occasions I actually saw the buslanes CAUSING A JAM. The cars stop as the buslane starts and they cannot filter right as traffic is so jammed up so the buses pile up behind the cars....time and again i see this but our PAP ministars are blissfully blind so the bus lanes continue c) And finally Sinlkiepoor roads are dominated by trucks, lorries and vans...mostly driven by PRC or Indian foreign workers. And these workers drive these 3 tonne vehicles in the exact same way they drive in their motherland...ALL of us have seen the lorries and trucks ON THE EXTREME RIGHT HAND OF THE EXPRESSWAY DOING OVER 80KPH even when the vehicle label says top speed is limited to 60kph. So now u see why its pointless to drive sports car or fancy rides in sinkie land.....the PAP system just sucks out all the soul, spontaneity and joy from even the most simple of pleasures. d) and we also have to consider the financial factors too...like the host of COE, ERP and other scams imposed by our UNIQUE govt to "help manage" traffic congestion.. So do share your views and frustrations with us here....

Just my 2 cents i don't think it will really save you alot of money . environment not really too ....

Anyone got any idea? i know that GIC financial arm is the creme de la creme. but their IT leh? job satisfaction/renumeration/environment etc etc

Of course, each has its disadvantages... [please add to the list if you know something about it] CNG - ADV 1.gaining recognition as a cleaner and cheaper fuel (emits lesser greenhouse gases) 2. 3. - DISADV 1.possible LEAKAGE/UNBURNT METHANE!!!(main component of CNG) which is 20 times MORE POTENT as a greenhouse gas 2. 3. LPG - ADV 1.cleaner fuel than conventional petrol 2.can be made easily available (UNION could provide ) 3. - DISADV 1.not readily available in Singapore (at least not as an alt fuel for cars) 2. 3. HYBRID - ADV 1.being green without any hassle of conversion 2.no warranty issues (for new vehicles) 3. - DISADV 1.electric motor complicates repairs? Leading to higher costs? 2.much higer costs as compared to conventional vehicles (not much subsidies yet ) 3.

Just to let everyone know I'm now with RTMT instead Ford... eddie