Data on Sources of Marine Debris in Past Five Years

2 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the estimated percentage of marine debris that originates from (i) disposal of waste from ships and (ii) floating debris from neighbouring countries; and (b) if such data is not currently collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting the data.

The Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment (Mr Desmond Tan) (for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment): Mdm Deputy Speaker, in 2019 and 2020, the National Environment Agency (NEA) cleared, on average, about 3,500 tonnes of marine debris that washed onto our beaches each year, while the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) collected, on average, about 1,000 tonnes of flotsam from the sea each year. However, apportioning this marine litter to different sources is inherently challenging, as there is currently no internationally accepted methodology to conclusively determine the origins of transboundary marine litter.

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Thank you, Madam. I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I think we have the very beautiful upcoming Khatib Bongsu Nature Park, which I think is going to be covered by marine trash and these alarming figures that the Minister of State has just mentioned. Clean-up after clean-up, we realise that it really and truly is never-ending.

So, I am just wondering whether the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) can study this. By looking at the packaging labels, we can sort of determine where the trash came from. So, whether we can do some baseline study so that we can address the root of the problem.

Secondly, as part of the Parliamentary Question, I think it is really an issue of the ships throwing their trash into the waters as well. So, can MSE also look into this and address these root causes?

Mr Desmond Tan: I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. The bulk of our beach litter comes from the marine trash that are brought in by our natural tidal waves. Given that our monsoon seasons are twice a year, it does not really help. The Member did suggest maybe looking at the labels of the trash and from the labels, we probably can tell where it was made, but it is unlikely to be able to confirm where the litter is thrown from.

I will take the opportunity to also explain what are the things that have already been done by the Government to try to minimise and reduce the marine trash and marine pollution.

First of all, we have strict regulations on pollution control as well as waste disposal. This is both from the land-based inland waterways as well as from the ships from the sea, which are currently regulated by MPA.

For land-based sources, NEA administers the Environmental Protection and Management Act as well as the Environmental Public Health Act that governs the discharge of polluting compounds and litter into the waterways such as plastics, chemicals and oil. Our waste management approach in Singapore also ensures that we properly dispose our waste and minimise any waste that is washed into the ocean.

As for the ships, MPA is the agency that implements regulations to minimise marine pollution through the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, or PPSA. Any form of disposal into the sea from the ship, is currently prohibited and any violation can result in fines or imprisonment. Ships are also required to maintain records of all their garbage and management plans for verification by inspectors. I understand that MPA today, on average, sends out five garbage collection vessels every day and they have nine additional vessels to pick up the marine trash flotsam from the sea.

At the regional level, Singapore, along with ASEAN member states, continues to adopt the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in ASEAN Region and the ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris from 2019. We will continue to actively participate to address marine debris pollution and to contribute to initiatives and ideas that can help ASEAN's collective as well as individual capabilities to address the marine pollution issue.

These are the existing measures. We recognise that despite all these regulations, there are still tonnes of garbage that are swept onto our beaches every day. These are important places that our residents and our people value. We thank the many community groups and individuals for stepping forward to keep these clean. NEA will continue to do its part to step up on the cleaning, especially during the monsoon seasons.

One last point. I wish to mention that to better understand the marine litter situation in Singapore, NEA has recently embarked on a two-year study to gain a better understanding of the levels as well as the pathways of marine litter and micro-plastics in Singapore's inland waters, coastal waters as well as recreational beaches, which could then support recommendations for future marine litter and micro-plastics monitoring programme or initiatives.

I want to caveat at this juncture that it is not clear if the study would be able to explain the causes or the origins of the debris but we think that is an important step forward.