Those lucky enough to land tickets for the National Day Parade (NDP) and its rehearsal shows are often just as excited to receive the funpacks.
But many of the items end up in the bin after the event.
In 2014, the organisers said the NDP generated at least 70 tonnes of waste per year. Of this amount, about 30 tonnes were recycled.
For the first time, organisers consulted Zero Waste SG in planning the logistics for this year’s parade.
After going through an exhaustive list, organisers dropped the maracas and scarves, for example, from the funpacks and cut out plastic packaging from most of the bags’ contents.
Zero Waste SG has also argued against bento boxes for participants and volunteers. This year, the parade planning committee has organised buffet spreads for the volunteers and performers, where possible, to reduce food waste.
In a Facebook post last week, Member of Parliament Louis Ng made the case for the funpacks to exclude all plastic bottles and bags.
“NDP is the biggest birthday party in Singapore for the year… this is one chance where we can reach out to a lot of people,” Mr Ng told The Straits Times.
Ms Pek Hai Lin, manager of Zero Waste SG has one more suggestion – to do away with the funpack altogether.
“The money spent on the funpack can go towards the show instead… as much as Government and big organisations have to make changes, the push (for zero waste) must come from the ground,” she said.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 2 July 2019