This section evaluates possible reasons for why Singaporeans are not taking steps towards reducing their reliance on single-use disposables when ordering takeaway.
- Theory of planned behaviour:
The Theory of Planned Behaviour refers to the idea that people’s intentions are the best predictors of their deliberate behaviours. These are determined by 3 things: their attitudes towards specific behaviours, their subjective norms, and their perceived behavioural control.While most people are able to admit that excessive plastic usage is harmful to the environment, many do not have sufficiently strong or specific attitudes regarding the consequences of takeaway in relation to conservation issues. Takeaway is also a prevalent part of Singaporean life, thus, does not cause much social controversy. In addition to this, the belief that everyone uses single-use takeaway, and thus, the belief that no difference will be made to the environment regardless of one’s actions, makes it more difficult to commit to any lasting attitude or behavioural changes.(Note: A survey in 2016 showed that while 9 in 10 Singaporeans are concerned about climate change and related environmental issues, more than 1/3 of the respondents believed that their individual actions ultimately would not matter to the state of the environment.)
- Lack of sufficient incentives to encourage behavioural change:
The additional charge for takeaway is more often than not, less than 50c. Singapore is largely an affluent society, meaning that consumers think that the convenience of being able to take food away makes this additional charge worth paying. Furthermore, not all food stalls implement this additional charge. Thus, this inconsistency also makes it harder for Singaporeans to change their behaviour.
- Cognitive dissonance:
Humans need coherence, which is something that is gained when an individual’s actions and thoughts are in line with each other. Dissonance is the opposite. A great deal of mental discomfort is felt when someone is experiencing dissonance.Dissonance occurs when: a) An attitude is contradicted by new information b) When beliefs are challenged by information that we never considered c) When we behave in ways that do not fit well with our attitudes d) When reality suggests that we may have behaved in ways that irrational, immoral (assuming we view ourselves as moral), or stupid. In this case, it is when reality suggests that we may have behaved in ways that are immoral. Most Singaporeans are educated, and most Singaporeans are also aware that using too much plastic or non-recyclable items is harmful to the environment. Yet, many Singaporeans still do not take any steps towards reducing their plastic usage. Hence, dissonance should be experienced. Dissonance can be reduced by either changing the behaviour to match the attitude, or justifying the behaviour. However, taking steps to change behaviour requires more effort than simply trying to justify the behaviour.
Thus, Singaporeans are likely to justify the action of taking food away in the provided disposable containers because of the convenience. Some may even think that they will reuse or recycle the products. Regardless, it appears that it is also more convenient for Singaporeans to reduce the dissonance felt by justifying their behaviour.
- People just don’t care:
Or do they not have the time to care? In the case of the BYOB campaign, people are able to educate themselves on the benefits of bringing their own reusable products. However, the BYOB campaign has not had enough impact on the masses – many people still rely on the disposables provided at stalls.Hence, this suggests that perhaps, people are not seriously considering the alternatives that the BYOB campaign has to offer. This may also be a problem of value differences across cohorts: elderly are either less able or willing to educate themselves, working adults are too busy to consider seemingly “trivial” things such as this, and while the younger generation is becoming more aware of such conservation issues, they cannot be the only pioneers changing in a national attitude that has lasted for decades.