Incentivising Use of Environment-friendly Food and Drink Containers
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Gan Thiam Poh’s inquiry on whether the Ministry will consider incentivising the use of environment-friendly food and drink containers. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu Hai Yien responded that disposables are prohibited for dine-in at new hawker centres and for stallholders starting tenancies from September 2018. Under the "Say YES to Waste Less" campaign, over 1,600 premises promote reusables, with private businesses like Starbucks and SaladStop! offering discounts or free toppings to customers. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu Hai Yien also announced that a Citizens' Workgroup will be convened to explore additional measures to curb the excessive consumption of disposables. The government aims to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors to further encourage the adoption of reusable containers and reduce overall waste.
Transcript
19 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider incentivising the use of environment-friendly food and drink containers such as washable or reusable containers.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: My Ministry and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been actively promoting the use of reusable containers in place of disposables. For example, NEA has disallowed the use of disposables for dine-in meals at all its new hawker centres and for cooked food stallholders who started their tenancies in any hawker centre from September 2018.
Through the nation-wide "Say YES to Waste Less" campaign launched in 2019, operators of over 1,600 premises have partnered NEA to encourage consumers to bring along reusables and decline disposables when ordering food for takeaway or delivery. Under this campaign, many Food & Beverage establishments have taken the lead to incentivise consumers who bring reusable containers. For example, Starbucks offers a $0.50 discount to customers who bring their own cups or tumblers, and SaladStop! offers a free topping for customers who bring their own bowls for takeaway orders. We are heartened by the initiatives and commitment of the private sector and encourage more companies to join in this effort.
Addressing the excessive consumption of disposables remains a priority of my Ministry and NEA. A Citizens' Workgroup to look into measures to check the excessive consumption of disposables will be convened this month. We look forward to hearing their ideas on how we can encourage everyone to play his or her part to reduce the use of disposables, including incentivising the use of environment-friendly food and drink containers.