The Garbage of Eden - 29th September 2023

Land-scarce Singapore is facing a burgeoning garbage crisis, as its 6 million strong population continues to churn out vast quantities of waste – last year alone it amounted to 7.4 million tonnes, with merely 57 percent being recycled.

A small island, created by juxtaposing two smaller islands, is the city state's solitary landfill site. The isle of Pulau Semakau is circled with a 'bund', a special retaining enclosure, yet if the island nation carries on producing waste at the present-day rate, Semakau will be brimming with rubbish by 2035.

To prolong its lifespan, 2019 saw the launch of the government's 'zero waste' campaign, with the dual intention of both upping recycling to 70 percent and slashing the quota of rubbish destined for Pulau before the end of the 2020s.

The Manager of Landfill Operations at the National Environment Agency (NEA), Desmond Lee, comments.

Desmond Lee: "Because this is the only landfill in Singapore, that is due to the small area in Singapore, the small size of Singapore, and the competing land needs, it's difficult to find another place to, another location to replace this landfill. So, the, so it's imperative that we continue to use Semakau Landfill as long as possible to and if possible to extend its life beyond 2035."

Since the majority of non-recyclable waste goes to incineration plants, with the ashes deposited on Semakau later down the line, environmentalists are perturbed. Displeased with the current state of affairs, they cite air-pollution as troubling, together with the potential risks of chemical seepage into the isle's terrain and marine ecosystems.

The NEA's robustly contested these claims, asserting that the air's treated prior to the release of harmful gases, and that ashes are dumped in locations where an impermeable membrane's been laid, to halt any leaching into the ground.

Once filled with waste, each section's sprinkled with soil and cultivated with mangrove forests, converting the island into a verdant paradise, replete with mammal and bird life. It's earned it the nickname 'the Garbage of Eden'.