How Singapore Deals With Trash
And why other countries should take inspiration from this method.
The normal life of trash is as follows: the product is used, the remains are thrown away, all the trash is collected, the metal is collected, and the item sits in a landfill for tens if not hundreds of years. Non-biodegradable items like plastic, for example, are very hard to decompose in landfills. This could pose much of a problem in the near future.
Why Trash Is A Problem
It’s common sense that a byproduct of human usage of an item is trash. Trash, of course, is normal; every human generates some amount of trash. However, what is not normal is that according to the EPA, the amount of “municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018 was 292.4 million tons (U.S. short tons, unless specified) or 4.9 pounds per person per day.” This amount is rising exponentially, and with that comes a lot of problems. For example, habit alteration can be caused by pollution and trash debris in ocean and river zones. Oxygen can also be depleted and the light level can drastically reduce in undersea waters. Specific chemicals in products may also leak into waters, thus damaging aquatic life. An easy way to solve this problem is to manage trash in an effective way that does not take that much space, like that of Singapore’s.
How Singapore Handles Trash
Singapore’s process of trash management involves burning the trash and filtering the smoke. First, all of the trash is accumulated from all garbage cans and trash bags. Next, the trash is taken to an incineration plant to burn the trash. This fire is over 1,000 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to “eat ” the fire. Almost all of the trash is burned, but a bit of ash remains. Then, this ash is transported to a body of water that does not touch ocean water, making it safe. Using this process, they were able to make an actual “trash island” made from repeating deposits of ash. Ironically, the island is very pleasant and clean. It can even sustain trees and other plants.
How This Method Compares to Others
There are many other methods of getting rid of an area’s trash. Obviously, landfills are very costly in terms of money and space. There is also the option of recycling, but not all materials can be recycled (ex. polystyrene). The same applies to composting since only organic materials such as food and tree scraps can be composted. Out of the options mentioned above, I believe incineration is the best. It can easily get rid of the trash through burning, and there is little wait needed.
The only drawbacks are the harmful gases and the ash that is left over. However, Singapore was able to overcome these problems. The harmful gases are filtered out so the air that is emitted from the incineration plants is very clean. Additionally, the ash is dumped in the water of the man-made island, which does not touch ocean waters, therefore making no harmful impact. Surprisingly, this solution offers an additional benefit: the heat from the burned trash is then harnessed to power thousands of homes with electricity, all from incineration plants.
Will Other Countries Use This?
First, we must analyze the cost of it. According to BetterMeetsReality, it costs $50 to send a ton of trash to the landfill and $65 to $75 to incinerate it. From this information, it may seem that landfill is a better choice. However, landfills require more maintenance, which can also cost a lot of money. With incineration, however, it just has to be dumped into safe water, which can take little money. Even though it may take some initial investment to build an incineration facility, incineration would most likely cost a similar amount as landfills in the long run.
Many factors are impacting our environment, and choosing a reliable method of emptying our fuel is crucial for improving the condition of the world we live in. Ideally, there should be little leftovers left from all trash. The method of trash disposal should be cost-effective and have little environmental impact. I believe incinerating the trash and filtering the smoke is a very good way to meet both of these requirements. Also, the heat can be harnessed, which gives electricity to power many homes. Soon, the amount of trash will grow exponentially, producing a great need for a reliable technique of getting rid of trash, and Singapore’s solution might be a viable option for the rest of the world.
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