Hansard, 1993-03-11

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [2nd Allotted Day].

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Head M (cont.) - Resumption of debate on Question [10th March, 1993], "That the sum to be allocated for Head M of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MC 1500." - [Dr John Chen Seow Phun]. Question again proposed.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, the quantity of waste generated is increasing quite rapidly as Singaporeans become more and more affluent. Waste output for the first 11 months of 1992 averaged 6,160 tons per day, an increase of 4.5% over the 1991 average. Industrial and commercial waste makes up 51% of the waste disposed of, whereas domestic and trade waste makes up the remaining 49%. For resource conservation and to reduce the costs of waste collection and disposal, we should therefore have an effective waste minimisation and management programme. One way is to step up our recycling programme. The Ministry started a number of recycling centres sometime ago. I was told that some of these centres suffer the problem of people throwing into bins all kinds of rubbish indiscriminately. Will the Minister give us an update on the effectiveness of the scheme and whether there is any other approach the Ministry is considering to encourage recycling? Sir, incineration of rubbish also helps recycling. We generate electricity and recover iron from the waste. I would like to ask the Minister: how much more of the rubbish we generate can be incinerated? And if we are not burning all the rubbish that can be incinerated, can the Minister tell us why? Sir, another way to encourage waste reduction is to charge economic costs for waste removal. At present, households are charged a flat rate for refuse removal. There have been suggestions that refuse removal fees should be tied to the actual quantities of refuse to be disposed of. Can the Minister tell us whether he is considering such a move and how it can be implemented? Sir, the cost of refuse removal also depends on the cost of hiring workers and the methods adopted. All of us are aware that there is a shortage of refuse removal and cleansing workers in Singapore. This is evident in the reduced frequency of cleansing, the increasing reliance on older workers and some mechanisation that we see. I therefore want to know whether the Government is taking a national approach towards this problem. For instance, in the case of mechanisation, there is a need to take a total look at the whole country and ensure that all the compounds, the streets, the buildings and so on are either modified or improved to become more machine friendly. I provide an example here. In the early days of tree planting, we went around planting many trees to achieve a certain objective. But I am not sure whether we were aware then that some of these trees could pose problems to mechanisation today. Sir, the Government should also look at other available systems such as the sewers to carry disintegrated solids to certain points for disposal. May I have the response of the Minister, please?

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, there are laws in Singapore to control the pollution of our environment, for example, proper disposal of rubbish and indiscriminate burning of substances in open air. But, as yet, there is no comprehensive set of provision to regulate noise pollution which can endanger health as well as impoverish the quality of life. Sir, we have to live very closely together with one another as living space is a scarce commodity in Singapore. The need to tolerate the hustle and bustle of living side by side with or on top of one another goes without saying. But living in close proximity to one another need not have to mean doing so with unnecessarily loud, distracting or irritating noises. Sir, my concern is that, with the passing of each year, more and more of Singapore will be built up and the level of noise pollution will become intolerable. It would be impractical and unrealistic to ban all noises above a certain level of decibels on a 24-hour basis. I do not think anyone in or outside this House wants to ban the banging of cymbals, gongs and drums at religious festivals. But it is pointless for Singaporeans to slog themselves out to own homes if they cannot have peaceful enjoyment of their homes at any time. A balance has to be found between the need for such peaceful enjoyment and the need for Singapore to allow vital economic activities to be carried out, even if these activities are sources of noise pollution. One way may be to restrict noisy activities at night, say, between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am. Another way is to confine noisy activities to non-residential areas, if possible. Or to use less noisy modes for carrying out noisy activities or to use noise-dampening materials, for example, on expressways. I should therefore like to know whether the Government has any plan to enact comprehensive legislation on noise pollution in future.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, I agree with Mr Chin Harn Tong's point of view. But I am more interested to know about noise pollution created by vehicles. Sir, for your information, the Central Expressway (CTE) cuts my Kallang Division into two parts. On the one side, you have Kallang Estate and, on the other side, you have Whampoa Estate. I have been receiving complaints from residents that the vehicles plying up and down the CTE have created unbearable noise. I am sure this kind of noise pollution is not peculiar to my constituency. I would like to know whether the Ministry has any plans to tackle noise pollution problem, apart from planting more trees along the expressway, and whether the Ministry will conduct any spot checks on excessive noise created by vehicles, especially motor-cycles.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, the Government launched a Green Labelling Scheme last year and a number of product categories were released to promote green consumerism. The success of this scheme will be judged not just by the initial number of companies applying to join the scheme, but also by the response of the consumers to the green products. Can the Minister tell us what is the progress made on Green Labelling, whether the green products have received good response from the consumers, and what else the Ministry would do to further promote green consumerism?

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Mr Chairman, Sir, let me fist deal with the subject of Privatisation of Hawker Centres. However, I would like to inform this House and, in particular, hon. Members who spoke on the subject at yesterday's sitting, that I will be speaking in general terms as many of the details of the scheme are still being worked out. Sir, the Government is looking into the possibility of selling hawker stalls to incumbent stallholders. After buying over the stalls, the hawkers can, as suggested by Mr Peh Chin Hua yesterday, form management committees to manage the respective hawker centres. The terms and conditions of the sale will be made as attractive as possible. The selling price will be kept affordable and the details of the terms and conditions of sale and selling price will be announced later. Sir, I may add that the privatisation proposal for hawker centres is separate and distinct from the recent tendering of vacant wet market stalls. The vacant wet market stalls that were put out for tender recently were in excess of what we need for resettlement purposes. Let me assure Members of this House that stalls that are already occupied will not be tendered out. It is our intention to sell them to incumbent stallholders. On the subject of Refuse Collection, Sir, I must thank Mr Chew Heng Ching for bringing up a very real concern which my Ministry faces. In the short term, my Ministry will attempt to overcome the manpower shortage by introducing more labour-saving methods for refuse collection. For example, refuse compactors will be installed at more bin centres. However, in the longer term, Sir, we will need the support and the cooperation of the community at large. In countries like the UK and indeed in the US and other countries in Europe, households give a lot of cooperation to refuse collectors. In these countries, refuse is collected once a week. In order to minimise littering and other public health problems, residents bring out the refuse on collection day. Sir, in Singapore, everyone should also cooperate and not take refuse collection for granted. For example, for the 85% of residents living in flats, if they were to bag their refuse before dropping them into the chutes, the workmen will certainly find it much easier to empty the bins at the chute. For those who live in landed property, the one-man-operated (OMO) method may be a possible way of reducing the number of refuse collection workers required. Alternate-day collection may be another alternative. But really, Sir, if everyone practises waste minimisation through reuse and recycling, there will be less waste and we may not even need the extra workmen in future. But whatever it is, my Ministry will continue to provide a good level of refuse collection service despite the manpower shortage. Mr Charles Chong yesterday spoke of complaints from Pasir Ris residents about the non-collection of refuse from their centralised refuse chutes and he wanted to know what my Ministry proposes to do to deal with such situation so that refuse would be collected regularly. Sir, refuse thrown down the centralised chutes is collected in special bins at the bottom of the chutes. As the quantity in each bin is large, the refuse has to be mechanically removed by our refuse trucks. Indiscriminate parking of vehicles in front of these chutes obstructs our operation. This is becoming quite a serious problem and is preventing the removal of refuse from centralised refuse chutes in a number of housing estates. My Ministry is working with the HDB and several town councils to see how best obstruction caused by illegal parking can be minimised. I would also like to seek the cooperation of motorists to refrain from parking illegally in front of centralised refuse chutes and bin centres. 12.45 pm Mr Goh Choon Kang yesterday expressed concern over the effect of tendering out hawker stalls on food prices. Let me at the outset clarify that, apart from the four hawker stalls at Newton Food Centre, the other stalls that were put up for tender recently were the vacant wet market stalls. As I have said earlier, these vacant wet market stalls were in excess of what we need for resettlement purposes. Sir, food prices are not likely to rise as a result of the tendering out of these vacant wet market stalls. The number of vacant wet market stalls put up for tender forms only a small proportion of the overall number. For example, the Buffalo Road Market has about 400 stalls, of which only 13 were tendered out. These 13 stalls will not be able to compete with the rest in the market if their food prices were high. In fact, food prices in private dry markets are comparable to those in wet markets even though dry market stallholders pay very much higher rentals. Sir, tendering is a more efficient and equitable method of allocating limited resources. In the past, applicants for hawker stalls had to participate in ballots. Success depended on luck, rather than on their ability to provide good service to the customers. On the subject of dengue haemorrhagic fever, I am happy to say that the outbreak of the disease which occurred last year has been brought under control. The average number of cases over the past two months was 16 per week as compared to 55 cases per week last year. Nearly 5,000 households were fined for breeding mosquitoes within their premises last year. Three repeat offenders were prosecuted in court. Although the overall situation has improved, I would still like to urge Singaporeans to continue to take steps to prevent mosquito breeding. Sir, as the population of Aedes mosquitoes increases in a neighbourhood, that neighbourhood comes under threat of dengue haemorrhagic fever outbreak. Public health education will be my Ministry's overall strategy. We will also strengthen our monitoring and surveillance capabilities by building a quicker and more responsive alert system. This will enable any localised build-up of Aedes mosquitoes to be detected early so that ground operations can be mobilised quickly. For the information of this House, by the middle of this year, our surveillance programme will be fully computerised. On the subject of waste minimisation, this House may wish to note that the Green Plan Workgroup on Resource Conservation has made a number of recommendations to discourage excessive waste generation. One of the recommendations of the Workgroup is for households to pay by the amount of refuse discarded. In this way, the Workgroup hopes that less refuse will be generated as households curb their refuse output in order to save on refuse removal fees. Such a volume-based fee can take a number of forms. My Ministry is presently considering two alternatives: the Pre-paid Bag System and the Variable Bin System for landed properties. What are these systems? The Pre-paid Bag System requires households to buy special bags for their refuse. The price of each bag will include the refuse removal fee. So households which throw out less rubbish will spend less on the bags. The Variable Bin System requires each household to obtain special bins for its refuse and the monthly refuse removal fee will depend on the size of the bin. By throwing less away, a smaller bin will be needed and the household will pay a lower fee. Sir, the introduction of a volume-based fee system will be a major change for Singapore. My Ministry will be considering these proposals very, very carefully before any decision is taken. We will not rush into it. On the subject of recycling brought up by Dr John Chen, our assessment is that it has achieved its objective of encouraging members of the public to practise resource conservation. Since the launching of the recycling programme, my Ministry has set up a total of 58 recycling centres. I agree with Dr Chen that there are some people who misuse the recycling bins, but I am happy to say that they form a small minority. The Member may wish to know that apart from recycling bins, my Ministry has also launched a pilot project in a housing estate for door-to-door collection of recyclable materials. We will also be launching a purpose-built recycling collection vehicle to serve about 10 private residential estates in the Bukit Timah area as part of my Ministry's expansion of the recycling programme. Dr Chen, like Mr Chew Heng Ching yesterday, has touched on a problem that my Ministry is most mindful of when he spoke on the shortage of public cleansing workers. Because of the problem we anticipate, my Ministry has over the years progressively introduced mechanisation to replace manual workers. For example, we are now trying out a small mobile machine to clean open parks and walkways. If proven successful, this machine can replace a few workers. But in the longer-term, there will be a limit to mechanisation and it will be necessary and crucial to have the community's support and cooperation. If everyone can help keep our public places clean by not littering, we will need fewer workers for public cleansing. As to whether Government takes a national approach in attempting to solve the cleansing of public places, the answer is yes. My Ministry does consult other relevant authorities, when necessary, to ensure that designs or modifications of infrastructures take into account public cleansing, especially in areas where it may not be possible to mechanise. For example, we got the PWD to redesign the inlet to the scupper drains as the older design gave rise to cleansing problems. We have also got the PWD to provide ramps for pedestrian malls and walkways to facilitate the use of mechanised mobile cleansing machines. Sometime ago, we also convinced the Parks and Recreation Department not to plant Ketapang trees as they shed leaves continuously which clogged up drains and drain outlets. Dr Chen also wants to know how much more of the rubbish we generate can be incinerated. With the completion of the third incineration plant at Senoko, we now have a total incineration capacity of 5,700 tonnes per day and we are able to burn all incinerable refuse generated up to the year 1997. With regard to his suggestion that sewers carry disintegrated solids to certain points for disposal, I will certainly ask the relevant department of my Ministry to look into the proposal. Let me turn to the subject of noise pollution. It will not be possible to eliminate noise. We can only minimise its impact. So to control noise, our primary focus will be on preventive measures to minimise noise impact. As far as possible, we will use appropriate engineering or planning measures to do this. For example, to reduce traffic noise from expressways, the PWD has implemented several measures such as lowering the road gradient, optimising traffic flows and controlling speed limits. The PWD is also looking into the feasibility of using noise absorbing materials for paving roads. And to cut down traffic noise level further, the ROV is currently examining the noise emission standards for vehicles. Sir, we have the necessary legislation to control various types of noise and these are enforced by several appropriate authorities. But the House may be interested to know that the Green Plan Workgroup on Noise has recommended the setting up of a central unit in my Ministry to ensure that controls by the various authorities are guided by well-coordinated policy directions and objectives. Apart from a few areas where new legislation may be required, existing laws are sufficiently comprehensive. I will now answer some of the issues raised by Mr Choo Wee Khiang. To minimise the impact of noise from the CTE, residential developments in the vicinity of the CTE are kept at least 30 metres away from the expressway. The PWD, as I have mentioned earlier on, has implemented several other measures to minimise the impact of traffic noise from the Central Expressway. Sir, on Green Labelling, the Scheme now covers 5 product categories - 4 on recycled paper products and 1 on carbon-zinc batteries. In the next 4 months, another eight product categories will be introduced and these include alkaline batteries, compact fluorescent lamps and detergents. Since my Ministry introduced the Green Labelling Scheme in August last year, we have received enthusiastic response from manufacturers and retailers to participate in the Scheme. A recent survey conducted by my Ministry showed that support from members of the public for Green Label products has also been encouraging. Six of the 15 companies surveyed reported an increase in the sale of Green Label products ranging from 2% to 60%. And I would certainly like to congratulate our environment-friendly citizens who have made a choice to protect our environment.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, before I withdraw the amendment, I would like the Minister to consider carefully the implications of the two alternatives that he mentioned for the collection of refuse. First, by using a pre-paid bag, we may cut down the volume, but not necessarily the weight, which means that the waste generated can still be the same, but it is easier for collection. Secondly, the variable bin might encourage people to dump their rubbish into other people's bin. These are the implications that I hope the Minister will look into. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Amendment Nos. (3) and (4), Mr Yap is not here. Amendment No. (5), Dr John Chen.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M of the Main Estimates be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MF 1500. Sir, the variety and volume of chemicals and chemical products handled in Singapore have been increasing rapidly due to the success of our industrialisation programme. While this contributes significantly to our economy, it will also pose a great challenge to both the industries and the Government to maintain a safe and healthy environment expected by the workers and the public. 1.00 pm The Government has so far been able to avoid major chemical disasters through stringent controls and legislation. However, some of the chemical plants have been in existence for some years now. Whether the original design for safety controls is adequate or is still within the safety standards after a number of years of wearing down is of great concern to the workers and the public. There is therefore a need for companies in the chemical industry to perform regular safety audits for their plants. May I ask the Minister whether such requirement is being worked out for these companies to follow so as to protect both our workers and the environment.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, our vehicle population is rising. With more cars on the road, the total amount of pollution emitted from our vehicles will rise. If this trend is not checked, this pollution will be to the detriment of our air quality. Although our air quality is currently safe, we have to ensure that it continues to be so. The Ministry of the Environment has introduced a variety of measures to control pollution from vehicles. Would the Minister inform the House if the measures taken so far have been adequate and the effect these measures have had on our air quality?

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, the emission from road transport vehicles is a major source of air pollution in urban areas. At present, diesel and gasoline are the two major fuels used for road transport. It is well know that gasoline emits relatively high levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen-oxide and unburnt hydro-carbon. It is also well known that the diesel vehicle emits an unpleasant odour and also particulates. The latter is known to be carcinogenic. After the introduction of compulsory three-way catalytic converter for gasoline cars, we may manage to reduce the pollutants from the gasoline cars to the minimum possible level. However, the control of the diesel vehicle pollution is still considered relatively loose. I feel that when the technology and cost are feasible, the Ministry should consider the compulsory installation of particulate trap for diesel vehicles. Sir, electric cars should be ideal for our urban transport environment. However, it is still difficult to break through because of the problem of charging time, minimum distance for each charging, life of the battery and cost. So perhaps the short term solution is to introduce alternative fuels to further reduce the pollution generated by the vehicles. Many options are available. These include liquified petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and partial blend of alcohol or methanol with petrol or diesel. Out of all these options, I feel that compressed natural gas could be economically viable to the unique condition in Singapore. This is because at the moment we do have natural gas directly piped in from Malaysia and Indonesia at quite affordable and competitive price. Sir, CNG is a premium fuel and it will help the gasoline cars or spark ignition cars to reduce its emission of hydro-carbon and carbon monoxide. Due to the problems of handling CNG, at the moment it can only be applied to cars instead of trucks or heavy vehicles like buses. At the moment, many countries, like Japan, New Zealand and Australia, have replaced the polluted diesel taxis by using CNG-propelled spark ignition taxis. Sir, we can learn from the experience of all these countries. Perhaps, not too far in the future, the Ministry could consider allowing CNG-propelled taxis to be on our roads to further reduce air pollution in Singapore. At present, the rule guiding the use of such environment-friendly vehicles is either not in place or not friendly enough. I would just cite an example, like the using of LPG cars. The recent rule states that the owner of an LPG car is required to pay diesel tax which deters all the potential users. I suggest that the Ministry should put certain regulations in place to encourage people to use the environment-friendly vehicles. We should provide some incentives, if possible. But we must not provide disincentives to discourage ownership of such vehicles.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR - 1ST APRIL, 1993 TO 31ST MARCH, 1994 Sir, at the fourth meeting of parties to the Montreal Protocol held in Copenhagen in November 1992, the phase-out schedules of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances of the Montreal Protocol had been accelerated. Is Singapore complying with this accelerated phase-out schedule? I understand that the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances will not only affect our industries, but it will also affect the general public. Most of our air-conditioning systems for offices, homes and cars use coolants which are CFC-based. Their systems will probably have to be modified when such coolants become unavailable. Would the Minister tell us when will our offices, homes and cars be affected, whether there is a replacement for the coolants, and if not, what are the things people need to do to continue using their air-conditioning systems?