Which Specific Environmental Problem Should Singapore Focus On For The Next 10 Years?

Growing population is a crucial problem that would impact Singapore's environment within the next 10 years. The size of the population increased from 3.9 million to 4.5 million over the past 6 years and it is expected to continue increasing if the trend holds. Furthermore, housing, recreation and land transport are being developed to accommodate the increase. This process of urbanisation destroys the natural landscape as more land would need to be cleared for human use.

In addition, increasing population would mean higher waste output. Over the last 30 - 40 years, Singapore has transformed herself into an urbanised and industrialised country. This has led to a rising trend in our waste output. This would mean that the government has to spend more money to set up landfill sites to accommodate these waste. Our waste output has been escalating rapidly from a total of 0.46 million tonnes of waste disposed in 1970 to a total of 2.55 million tonnes in 2005. Although 90% of the waste are incinerated, the remaining waste are still buried in landfills. For instance, hazardous waste such as batteries and paint are buried in landfills, and when they decompose, they will release chemicals into the soil and contaminate it. Therefore it can be foreseen that the needs of the population would be met at the expense of the environment.

Though the government imposes fines to deter factories from disposing their industrial waste carelessly, it is not sufficient. Education is also needed and it is essential to inform the public the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling their waste, if not the consequences would be dire in the future.