We thank Mr Eddie Lee Wai Seng for his letter (Focus on plastic waste too; Aug 10). MEWR and NEA adopt various strategies to reduce waste generation and encourage recycling. Our efforts focus on three waste streams – food waste, e-waste and packaging waste, which includes single-use plastics. There have been calls for a plastic bag charge or even a total ban on single-use plastic bags in Singapore. But our view is that encouraging households to use fewer plastic bags is more practical. Many households reuse plastic bags to dispose of their household refuse in a hygienic manner. Household refuse in Singapore, including plastic bags, is incinerated rather than landfilled directly. This averts many environmental problems associated with plastic bags, such as marine litter or landfill pollution. Our approach is therefore focused on reducing the overall use of single-use plastics and packaging. We are also working with manufacturers to see how single-use packaging and plastics can be reduced.... Continue Reading