Life-cycle Assessment of Carbon Footprints of Carrier Bags
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Leon Perera’s inquiry regarding carrier bag life-cycle assessments and paper composting challenges ahead of the disposable carrier bag charge. Minister Grace Fu Hai Yien noted that single-use plastic bags have the highest global warming potential, while paper and biodegradable bags contribute significantly to deforestation and water consumption. The Minister stated that substituting material types may not improve environmental outcomes, as one reusable bag can replace 125 single-use plastic bags or 52 paper bags annually. She explained that Singapore lacks domestic paper composting or recycling facilities, meaning collected paper recyclables are aggregated and sent to overseas facilities. Consequently, the government encourages minimizing disposables and adopting reusable bags before the carrier bag charge commences on July 3, 2023.
Transcript
12 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider highlighting (i) the life-cycle assessment of the carbon footprints of plastic bags vis-à-vis paper bags and reusable cotton bags and (ii) the challenges of composting paper in the Singapore context as NEA rolls out its disposable carrier bag charge.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: In 2018, the National Environment Agency released the key findings of a lifecycle assessment study on carrier bags and food packaging used in Singapore. The study estimated that using a reusable bag for one year could replace 125 single-use plastic bags, or 52 single-use paper bags.
The study found that single-use plastic bags had the highest global warming potential and energy consumption. On the other hand, single-use paper bags and single-use biodegradable plastic bags contributed significantly to deforestation and had high water consumption among the carrier bags studied. Hence, substituting single-use bags of a certain material type, for example, plastic bags, with single-use bags of another material type, for example, paper or biodegradable plastics, would not necessarily result in a better environmental outcome. The most environmentally-friendly option is to minimise use of disposables, where possible, by reusing our carrier bags.
There is no paper composting or recycling facility in Singapore. Paper recyclables collected are aggregated and sent to overseas facilities for recycling.
Ahead of the implementation of the disposable carrier bag charge from 3 July 2023, we encourage everyone to do their part for the environment by using reusable bags.