In 2018, an investigation by The Guardian found that Britain’s leading supermarkets generated about 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste each year. How much plastic and other packaging waste do supermarkets in Singapore — with a population of about 5.7 million, compared to Britain’s 66.5 million — generate? The picture could become clearer when mandatory packaging reporting begins next year. Companies such as brand owners, importers and large retailers including supermarkets will have to collect data on the types and amounts of packaging that they place on the market. This is the first step towards an EPR framework for packaging waste that Singapore aims to roll out by 2025. It will require companies to take responsibility for the life cycle of packaging they produce. The country’s largest supermarket chain has started preparing for mandatory packaging reporting. FairPrice Group has set up a team that is able to work with suppliers to gather the necessary information, and recently received the template for reporting from NEA, said its group CEO Seah Kian Peng. FairPrice believes the framework will encourage businesses to rethink the design of their packaging, he said.... Continue Reading