Singapore Packaging Reduction

25 October 2010

It has been announced that companies participating in the Singapore Packaging Agreement (SPA), which was launched in 2007, have to date cumulatively reduced their packaging waste by 4 520 tonnes. Three years into the Agreement’s five-year tenure , 121 companies have inked their commitment to reduce packaging waste, an increase from just 32 signatories in 2007.

Besides saving the companies S$8.34m in production costs, the reduction also helped reduce waste at source, which was achieved through various initiatives such as reducing the size and thickness of materials used for logistical processes and product packaging.

For their efforts to reduce waste at source, 19 outstanding signatories of the SPA will be honoured with the annual 3R Packaging Awards, which will take place in conjunction with the inaugural Asia Sustainable Packaging Summit this year.

Mr. Andrew Tan, chief executive officer of Singapore’s National Environment Agency, said: “We are glad to see companies reducing waste at source, and we encourage more companies to embrace the cradle-to-cradle design concept in their development processes.

“Through better packaging designs and the use of recycled and recyclable materials for their product packaging, we will be able to reduce the amount of waste going to our waste-to-energy plants and prolong the lifespan of Semakau Landfill.”

Tom Lee