With rising affluence and increased availability and affordability of goods, Singaporeans are buying and disposing products at an alarming rate. This is evident from the amount of waste generated in Singapore which increased by 7-folds over the last 40 years. At this rate, Singapore’s one and only landfill, the Pulau Semakau Landfill, will run out of space by 2035.
The issue on increasing waste generated is also contributed by increasing consumption of resources by our expanding population size. The figure below depicts the population size of Singapore increasing steadily from 1.6 million in 1960 to 5.6 million in 2018. The Straits Times also reported in 2013, that our population size is estimated to reach 6.5 to 6.9 million.
To save our overflowing landfill and minimize waste, the Singapore government announced its Zero Waste Masterplan in 2019.