APEC Marine Debris Roadmap - Implementation Progress: Singapore - 2021/SOM1/OFWG/019
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2021/SOM1/OFWG/019
Agenda Item: IIA
APEC Marine Debris Roadmap - Implementation
Progress: Singapore
Purpose: Information
Submitted by: Singapore
16th Ocean and Fisheries Working Group
Meeting
25-26 February 2021APEC Marine Debris Roadmap
Economy : Singapore
1. Policy Development and Coordination
No. Action Implementation progress
1.1 Identify and share Singapore has implemented a comprehensive and integrated waste management system. All waste in Singapore is
effective measures taking collected for proper disposal to ensure that waste is not washed into the ocean. As a Party to the International Convention
into account existing for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Singapore also ensures that vessels in the Port of Singapore are
global, regional and
prohibited from discharging all types of waste, including plastic, into the sea.
domestic action plans and
frameworks on marine Singapore is also working towards becoming a Zero Waste Nation. We launched the Zero Waste Masterplan, which
debris; and promote outlines Singapore’s strategies to reuse and recycle resources, turn trash into treasure as well as produce and consume
mutually beneficial sustainably. By taking a circular economy approach, we will be able to comprehensively address our key waste streams,
collaboration with other including plastic waste.
relevant international, In 2019, we enacted the Resource Sustainability Act (RSA). The RSA provides the legislative framework to impose
regional and sub‐regional
upstream regulatory measures to address our key waste streams – e‐waste, food waste, packaging waste including
fora or organizations.
plastics.
1.2 Establish mechanisms for
cross‐fora dialogue among
relevant APEC Working
Groups to encourage a
coordinated and holistic
approach to combating
and managing marine
debris.
1.3 Strengthen coordination Singapore government agencies, such as the National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA), partner the People,
with relevant private Private and Public (3P) sectors on initiatives that reduce the generation of land‐based solid waste, including plastic waste.
sector, and civil society Examples of such initiatives include the following:
organizations.
Page 1 of 8o Packaging Partnership Programme (PPP). The PPP is a capability development programme jointly introduced by
the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and NEA that supports companies to fulfil their obligations under the
Mandatory Packaging Reporting framework from 1 January 2021, as well as enable the exchange of best practices
in sustainable packaging waste management
o Retailers such as Miniso, Bossini and Ikea encourage consumers to bring their own reusable bags by either
charging for single‐use plastic bags or by making them unavailable.
o Another example is the nation‐wide “Say YES to Waste Less” (SYWL) campaign, which is aimed at influencing the
public to reduce the use of disposables. SYWL 2020 was launched on 14 September 2020 with 95 partners
comprising major food and beverage (F&B) outlets, food delivery services, a bank, malls, retail chains,
telecommunications service providers, hotels, schools, and non‐governmental organisations, among many
others.
1.4 Encourage economies to
build upon and apply the
‘APEC Policy and Practice
Recommendation for
Overcoming Barriers to
Financing Waste
Management Systems and
Reducing Marine Debris’
to address financing gaps
for waste management
infrastructure.
1.5 Encourage APEC
economies to promote
domestic inter‐agency
policy coordination
mechanisms on marine
debris and waste
management.
1.6 Promote sustainable Land‐based Sources
waste management, and Comprehensive waste management framework. Singapore has put in place a framework of stringent domestic
reduction and prevention legislations and regulations on pollution control and waste management to manage land‐based sources of waste to
of leakage of waste from
ensure that we are not likely to contribute to the global marine litter problem.
land‐ and sea‐based
sources, at all levels of
Page 2 of 8government and expand o Control of waste disposal. Through the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and the
on successful experiences Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA), NEA regulates the disposal of all types of waste in Singapore and
and models. administers strict anti‐littering regulations.1
o Incineration of solid waste. All incinerable wastes including plastics that are not segregated at source for
recycling are disposed of at waste‐to‐energy (WTE) plants. WTE plants are fitted with modern flue gas treatment
systems to ensure that flue gases are treated to meet local air emission standards. Ash from the WTE process,
together with other non‐incinerable wastes, are disposed of at the off‐shore Semakau Landfill.2 The incineration
of all non‐recyclable solid wastes prevents waste, such as plastic, from entering the ocean.
o Treatment of all waste water before discharge to sea. To prevent land based sources of waste from entering the
ocean, all waste water is treated in Singapore. The Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore’s National Water
Agency, treats all used water that enters the public sewerage system at water reclamation plants (WRPs) to meet
international discharge standards. Most plastic minerals, including microplastics, are removed through the
current treatment process at the WRPs. The PUB is also planning to incorporate the use of membrane bioreactor
technology (MBR) in its WRPs, which would further reduce the discharge of microplastics into the sea. Further,
regular water quality monitoring of inland water bodies and coastal areas is conducted to ensure that water
quality meets international standards.
o Waterway and coastal clean‐up. Singapore has regular waterways clean‐up measures that ensure that land‐
based litter, including plastic waste, that might otherwise wash into the ocean is prevented from doing so. Litter
that enters our waterways is trapped by litter traps installed at appropriate locations and expediently removed
by flotsam removal craft. Government agencies such as PUB, NEA and the National Parks Board (NParks) also
work with partners in organising coastlines and in‐land water body clean‐up exercises. For example, International
Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS), a volunteer‐run initiative, coordinates the counting, categorising and removal
of marine debris in Singapore’s mangroves and beaches annually. Other environment groups such as Our
Singapore Reefs and Little Green Men also conduct coastal and dive cleanups to document and remove marine
debris, as well as increase public awareness and action. Singapore’s Public Hygiene Council also has dedicated
“CleanPods”, which are community‐based resources equipped with metal tongs for litter picking, buckets for
litter as well as garden carts for transportation of tools and disposal of trash at selected beach locations. Using
1
This also includes the control of discharge of trade effluent, oil, chemical, sewage or other polluting matters into drains, as well as hazardous substances into inland waters.
2
Monitoring wells are located along the 7km‐long perimeter bund of Semakau Landfill, and water samples are regularly taken to ensure sea water quality is not compromised.
Page 3 of 8the CleanPod resources allow organisations, schools and communities to reinforce the value of ownership for
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and educational opportunities.
Ship‐based Sources
A responsible port. Singapore is committed to the prevention of pollution from ships.
o As a responsible maritime nation, Singapore was among the first in Asia to ratify all six Annexes of the
International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) MARPOL.3
o In Singapore, MARPOL is implemented under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act (PPSA) and its subsidiary
legislation PPS(Garbage) Regulations. The PPSA provides for fines of up to $20,000 or imprisonment terms of up
to 2 years, or both, for offences committed. The regulations are applicable to: (i) Singapore‐registered ships
wherever they may be; and (ii) foreign‐registered ships and Singapore‐registered ships in Singapore waters.
o As part of our MARPOL obligations, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) deploys five garbage
collection crafts daily at scheduled timings to collect garbage from ships at the anchorages.4
o As a responsible flag state and port state, Singapore conducts inspections on both Singapore‐registered ships and
foreign‐registered ships in our port to ensure that they comply with the regulations on garbage disposal into the
sea and that anti‐pollution measures are in place. Ships are also required to maintain garbage record and
management plans for verification by inspectors.
o MPA also patrols Singapore’s port waters to ensure that ships in the Port of Singapore do not discharge waste,
oil, garbage, or sewage into the sea.
1.7 Encourage the use of Singapore addresses marine plastic litter based on sound scientific knowledge.
available scientific
3 The main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships. MARPOL Annex V in particular prohibits the discharge of garbage, including all types of
plastics, into the sea.
4
No additional fees are collected from ships for disposal of garbage unless special requests to dispose garbage at a specific timing and location are made, in which case a fee will be charged.
Page 4 of 8information for the
development of policies.
2.‐ Capacity Building
No. Action Implementation progress.
2.1 Promote complementarily Singapore conducts capacity building programmes under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) to support other
between member developing countries in combatting marine litter, as part of our voluntary commitments at the UN Ocean Conference
economies’ initiatives 2017 in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.
within the APEC
Singapore partnered Norway to conduct the Singapore‐Norway Third Country Training Programme (TCTP), a Regional
framework and other
similar initiatives in the Training Programme on Waste Management and Reduction of Marine Litter for government officials from the Asia‐Pacific
APEC region. region. 2 runs of the programme were conducted in October 2017 and March 2019 for 45 foreign government officials.
Singapore provided capacity building assistance to other countries on the implementation of relevant international
instruments for the prevention of pollution from ships, such as MARPOL, through the IMO–Singapore TCTP. As part of
this commitment, MPA recently provided trainers to support IMO’s training for the National Workshop on MARPOL Annex
V and Port Reception Facilities in the Philippines in 23 – 25 October 2019. Since the onset of the Singapore‐IMO TCTP,
Singapore has provided in‐kind technical assistance to over 2,100 participants from over 90 countries, from Africa, the
Americas, Asia, Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Middle‐East and the Pacific Islands.
Singapore has also been actively participating in regional marine litter initiatives organised by the Coordinating Body on
the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and Partnerships in Environmental Management of the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA).
During the 34th ASEAN Summit in Jun 2019, Singapore, alongside other ASEAN member states, adopted the Bangkok
Declaration on Combating Marine Debris and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris to protect the marine
environment and strengthen regional cooperation on marine debris issues. ASEAN is currently in the process of finalising
a Regional Action Plan on Combatting Marine Debris.
2.2 Encourage consumer Singapore government agencies such as NEA, PUB, and NParks regularly work with environmental groups such as Zero
awareness activities and Waste SG, Public Hygiene Council (PHC), Our Singapore Reefs and Waterways Watch Society (WWS) to foster shared
education ownership in keeping the environment clean and minimising waste. They play an important role in raising awareness and
getting the public to take action to keep our land and watercourses clean. NEA supports such ground‐up initiatives with
the Call for Ideas Fund and Partnership Fund. For example, Zero Waste SG launched a Bring Your Own (BYO) campaign
(supported by NEA’s Call for Ideas Fund) that provides educational tips and engages retail partners to provide incentives
to encourage consumers to use their own reusable containers, bottles and bags, which reduces plastic waste.
MPA also organises maritime environmental outreach programmes to raise awareness on the importance of protecting
the marine environment. MPA partners community groups such as Our Singapore Reefs and Marine Stewards Singapore
Page 5 of 8to organise ‘World Oceans Day Celebration’ and ‘Marine Clean‐Up Day’. Both events aim to raise awareness on the
importance of protecting Singapore’s marine biodiversity among members of the public, through talks on marine
conservation, underwater clean‐up, and litter‐picking activities on our water surface and on our shores.
2.3 Promote new
technologies application
and dissemination such as
Artificial Intelligence and
Block Chain to control and
tracking marine debris
2.4 Promote complementarily
solutions between
member economies
initiatives to share new
approach in transforming
plastic waste into new
alternative of energy
resource
[ACTION ADDED BY
INDONESIA IN MARCH
2020 COMMENTS]
2.5 Address marine debris
management issues in
marine aquaculture in
APEC economies
3.‐ Past and Ongoing Activities (multi fora).
No. Action Implementation progress
3.1 Promote research to
identify policy drivers of
marine debris and
promote development
and implementation of
innovative solutions.
3.2
Page 6 of 8Support research and NParks has completed a research project in collaboration with the National University of Singapore to establish a baseline
promote knowledge for marine debris on Singapore’s shores, develop a citizen‐science programme to monitor macro‐debris and microplastics
sharing ‐ to assess marine and facilitate dialogue with stakeholders towards recommendations for management approaches.
debris impacts on coastal
ecosystems (e.g.,
mangroves, sea grass,
coral) and the marine
environment.
3.3 Encourage research on
environmentally
sustainable waste disposal
and management.
3.4 Support research on land‐
and sea‐based sources,
pathways, life cycles and
impacts of marine debris,
including potential
impacts on human health.
3.5 Support research on
developing new resource
and possibility to generate
energy/electricity from
plastic waste in coastal
areas
4.‐ Financing and Private Sector Engagement.
No. Action Implementation progress
4.1 Consider the possibility of
APEC sub funds to support
sustainable management
of the marine
environment including
marine debris.
4.2
Page 7 of 8Consider applying circular Singapore has implemented a National Recycling Programme, which provides a convenient means for consumers to
economy or sustainable recycle plastic waste and reduces the amount of plastic waste sent for disposal. NEA launched the #RecycleRight
materials management campaign in 2019 to improve awareness of recycling.
approaches to To fully close the plastics loop, Singapore is expanding our capabilities beyond those developed for existing mechanical
strengthened markets for recycling plants in Singapore which mainly take in the cleaner, post‐industrial plastics. Singapore is also pursuing
plastic wastes and drive chemical recycling solutions to treat plastics which are not suitable for mechanical recycling, such as contaminated
sustainable waste plastic bags and other single‐use plastics. Chemical recycling can potentially convert these plastics into higher‐value
management. products, such as pyrolysis oil, which is a potential feedstock for Singapore’s petrochemical sector
4.3 Explore opportunities for
de‐risking innovations and
technologies to enhance
access to international
financing.
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