Source: Asia Pacific Region 2 – Singapore
Data security in e-waste recycling, public hygiene, and hawker culture highlighted this year.
Singapore, 13 October 2024 – More than 1000 Clean & Green activities in the form of events or talks, involving partners such as schools, grassroots organisations, NGOs and the corporate sector, plus visits to sites of environmental interest and volunteer deployments, have been held so far across Singapore throughout 2024. In total, the activities saw more than 400,000 participants. The CGS movement encourages everyone to do our part as stewards of a Clean & Green Singapore. To continue our journey of sustainable development, we invite all in Singapore to champion a sustainable way of life, conserve our greenery and biodiversity, adopt green practices, and contribute to a more gracious society.
2 The National Environment Agency (NEA)’s annual Clean & Green Singapore (CGS) flagship event, CGS Day, will be held on 3 November 2024. Leading up to CGS Day, four satellite events will be held for members of the public, featuring fun family activities.
International E-waste Day 2024 Celebration
13 Oct 2024 (Sun), 10 am – 6 pm @ Westgate Mall
3 This year’s International E-waste Day (IEWD) 2024 “Secure E-Waste Recycling: Let’s Make a Difference Together”, focuses on data security. Launched by Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Amy Khor, IEWD 2024 aims to raise wider awareness of the secure recycling of data-bearing devices such as mobile phones and laptops. Visitors can learn about e-waste management, especially the data sanitisation and dismantling processes that the e-waste recyclers undertake, by going through educational booths and activities by ALBA E-Waste Smart Recycling and other industry and community stakeholders. IEWD 2024 underscores the overall importance of recycling in Singapore as we move towards becoming a zero-waste nation. More information on the recycling of data-bearing devices can be found in Annex A and B.
4 As part of IEWD 2024, contests such as the E-Waste Song Challenge, Photo Contest and Community E-waste Recycling Drive were organised to encourage members of public to play an active role in e-waste recycling. The song challenge and photo contest received 66 entries in total, while five community groups, comprising NGOs, Institutes of Higher Learning, and grassroots organisations, participated in the Community E-waste Recycling Drive.
Eco Paddle with Ola
13 October 2024 (Sun), 8.30am – 11.30am @ Siloso Beach, Sentosa
5 Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment, Mr Baey Yam Keng, joined a kayak litter-picking and beach clean-up activity at Siloso Beach, Sentosa this morning. Organised by Ola Beach Club, the event saw over 100 volunteers from Coca-Cola Singapore, Singapore Paddle Club, Friends of ACE (a migrant worker volunteer network under the Ministry of Manpower), the NEA Volunteer Corps, and the Public Hygiene Council (PHC). The event highlights the important role volunteers play in contributing to a clean environment, as well as supporting marine conservation efforts. The event was also supported by partners, such as Mount Faber Leisure Group, Sentosa Development Corporation and Soffell Singapore. Members of the public who missed this event can sign up for similar activities under CGS Experiences at https://www.cgs.gov.sg/events/eco-paddles-with-ola/, available till end November 2024.
Community Clean Up @ Upper Boon Keng
19 October 2024 (Sat), 9am – 11am, Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre
6 SMS Dr Koh Poh Koon, along with Minister Josephine Teo, Adviser to Jalan Besar GRC GROs, is set to join 50 volunteers for a community clean up at Upper Boon Keng. The event brings together a diverse group comprising SG Clean Ambassadors, Friends of ACE, Kolam Ayer GRO members, and representatives and volunteers from the Federation of Merchants’ Associations Singapore (FMAS), and Kao Singapore. The event will feature litter-picking activities to promote public cleanliness within the estate, as well as the distribution of Magiclean disinfectants and kitchen cleaners, sponsored by Kao Singapore, to hawkers at the Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre. The Community Clean Up @ Upper Boon Keng aims to shine a spotlight on good hygiene practices in the F&B industry. The event also demonstrates how stakeholders from different groups, such as residents, merchant associations, corporate partners, migrant workers, and volunteers, can come together for the common cause of keeping shared public spaces clean. This community spirit of taking greater ownership of the environment is the core driver of the Clean & Green Singapore movement.
Flag-off of Race to Sustainability! 2024
23 October 2024 (Wed), 9.30am – 10.30am, Gardens by the Bay
7 Gardens by the Bay’s flagship educational programme, Race to Sustainability!, will return this October. For the first time, it will be open to both lower primary and tertiary students, in addition to upper primary and secondary school students, to engage a wider range of youths. The expanded participation signifies the importance of engaging students and youth of all ages on sustainability issues, to help ensure a Clean & Green future for Singapore. This year’s theme centres on exploring sustainability through imagination and creative play, and offers tailored activities based on students’ levels. These include guided tours, talks, and hands-on challenges in an ‘Amazing Race’ format throughout the Gardens, where participants will learn about Singapore’s sustainability journey, the Gardens’ sustainability strategies, climate change and plant diversity. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Ms Grace Fu, will be flagging off the race on 23rd October 2024.
8 Additionally, the public can also look forward to a series of exhibitions focused on sustainability, open until 1 December 2024. More details are available at https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/racetosustainability.
CGS Day 2024
3 Nov 2024 (Sun), 9am – 11am @ West Coast Park and National University of Singapore (NUS)
9 The four satellite events will be capped off by CGS Day 2024, with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as Guest-of-Honour. The event will feature the opening of a new PHC CleanPod[1] at West Coast Park, followed by a community clean-up activity, a tree-planting at NUS UTown, and the presentation of the Environmental Services Star Awards and Community-In-Bloom Ambassador Awards. CGS Day celebrates the environmental efforts of schools, grassroots, corporate partners and outstanding individuals this past year, as well as reaffirm the community’s commitment to keeping Singapore clean and green. More details on CGS Day will be available closer to date.
10 CGS aims to inspire Singaporeans to care for our environment by adopting a clean, green, and sustainable lifestyle. Each of us can shape our neighbourhoods and common spaces through our green practices, championing a sustainable way of life, and by being a more gracious society. More information on CGS is available at https://www.cgs.gov.sg/.
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[1] CleanPods are fully equipped storage sheds that the public can apply to the Public Hygiene Council (PHC) for access to. The public can then borrow tools such as metal tongs and buckets from the sheds, to conduct their own clean-up activities. PHC has set up CleanPods in various housing estates, beaches and parks. To find out more about CleanPods, please visit: https://www.publichygienecouncil.sg/resources/cleanpod/
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ANNEX A
Factsheet on Singapore’s Regulated E-waste Management System
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme for E-waste
1 In July 2021, Singapore implemented a nationwide e-waste management system for regulated products, also known as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for E-waste. Producers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are physically and/or financially responsible for the collection and proper treatment of discarded EEE. NEA has appointed ALBA E-waste Smart Recycling Pte Ltd (ALBA) to operate the Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) in Singapore. As the PRS Operator, ALBA coordinates the collection and proper treatment of consumer e-waste on behalf of the producers.
2 Since the implementation of e-waste EPR, ALBA has set up over 800 e-waste collection points that includes e-waste bins and manned collections. They have also partnered organisations such as corporates and public agencies to improve e-waste collections. As of June 2024, more than 20,000 tonnes of e-waste (equivalent to weight of 73 Airbus A380 airplanes) was collected and recycled under the EPR Scheme for E-waste, up from the total of over 16,000 tonnes as of December 2023.
Data security in e-waste recycling
3 International E-waste Day (IEWD) is a global initiative to raise wider awareness about the growing problem of electronic waste and its impact on the environment and human health. This year’s IEWD, themed “data security” aims to create awareness on data security measures and provide assurance on secure e-waste recycling. Members of the public are encouraged to perform the following steps to protect their information prior to e-waste recycling.
4 Before recycling any data-bearing devices such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, the public is advised to protect their personal information by first backing up their data. They should also log out from their personal accounts and remove any storage media before performing a factory reset on their data-bearing devices. A factory reset is an irreversible process; this ensures that any outstanding data is wiped, providing users with a piece of mind before they recycle their data-bearing devices. Detailed steps to recycling data bearing devices can be found in Annex B.
5 Devices placed in e-waste bins are collected by ALBA E-waste Smart Recycling Pte Ltd and sent to e-waste recyclers for treatment and recycling.
6 E-waste recyclers take further steps to ensure that data is destroyed before recycling the devices. A data-bearing device is first dismantled to obtain the storage hard drive. The hard drive may then be fed into a degausser machine, which disables the data storage ability of the hard drive using a high magnetic field. Devices may also be crushed or shredded by use of a crusher or shredder machine. This ensures that the data bearing device is physically destroyed and data cannot be recovered by any means.
Call-for-action to recycle our e-waste
7 Through proper e-waste treatment and recycling, precious materials such as lithium, cobalt, copper, gold, silver and aluminium can be recovered, which reduces the need to mine for more raw materials. Reducing the need for mining also lowers pollution, as the process of mining has an impact on our environment. In addition, recycled material from e-waste, such as metal and plastic, can be reused to make new products.
8 Proper recycling of e-waste also safeguards human and environmental health. Improper disposal of e-waste leads to environmental pollution, and this may in turn harm human health. E-waste comprises many different components and requires specialised equipment to dismantle, shred, process and extract the constituent materials. This has to be performed within a controlled environment to prevent pollution while ensuring workplace safety and health. Choosing to recycle instead of discarding e-waste, ensures that they can undergo the proper treatment processes.
9 To do your part, the public can conveniently drop off e-waste at more than 870 collection points in accessible locations such as electronics retail outlets, shopping malls, community centres, supermarkets, government and commercial buildings.
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ANNEX B
Steps to Recycle your Data-Bearing Devices