By Yemi Olakitan
The management of waste is an integral part of our lives and represents one of the most significant new challenges that we as a nation must confront, one that is becoming increasingly urgent with each passing year. It is becoming progressively more complicated, and the associated societal shifts are having an impact on people’s lifestyles in general all over the world.
Even though it is widely regarded as one of the cleanest countries in the world, Singapore faces the same difficulties as Nigeria or any other nation when it comes to the management of its waste.
The amount of solid waste disposed of in the country has increased by approximately seven times since 1970, when it was only 1,260 tonnes a day, reaching a peak of 8,559 tonnes a day in 2016. This increase can be attributed to the growing population and thriving economy of the country.
More than 7.2 million tonnes of solid waste were produced in Singapore in 2019, and of that amount, only 2.95 million tonnes were unable to be recycled. Every year, approximately 930 million kilogrammes (kg) of waste plastic must be discarded, of which approximately 96% cannot be recycled. Because there was such a large quantity of trash, it needed to be organised, removed, and disposed of in the most effective way possible.
Nevertheless, over the course of its history, Singapore has uncovered a simple solution to this issue that does not require a significant amount of space. The National Environment Agency (NEA) is responsible for managing waste in Singapore and ensuring that all types of waste, including hazardous waste, are disposed of properly.
How Singapore Handles Its Waste Management
A process that involves burning the trash and filtering the smoke is reportedly utilized in Singapore’s method of waste management. To begin, all of the trash from the various waste containers and trash bags is gathered together. The trash is then transported to a facility that burns garbage, known as an incinerator. This temperature is greater than 1,000 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to “eat” the fire. The temperature is extremely high. The majority of the garbage has been burned up, but there is still some ash left over. After that, the ash is moved to a body of water that does not connect to the ocean, which ensures that it is not contaminated.
With the help of this method, the nation was able to create an actual “trash island” that was composed of recurrent deposits of ash. The island possesses a surprising amount of allure and tidiness. It is even capable of supporting trees and other plant life.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) reports that incineration can reduce waste by up to 90 percent, freeing up space in landfills. Additionally, the heat that is recovered from the process can be used to produce steam, which is then used to generate electricity.
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Since Singapore burns waste to produce energy, the recently appointed Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, stated that the country is not “in a hurry” to prohibit the use of plastic bags because of their usefulness.
What Can Nigeria Learn?
The roughly 200 million people who make up Nigeria’s population have a lot to gain from the 5.686 million people who make up Singapore’s population in terms of how they handle their waste management.
There is a lack of a well-defined waste management policy in many of the communities that make up the nation of Nigeria. Because of this, a great number of Nigerians, particularly those who live in rural areas, have turned to unsanitary methods of waste disposal.
People in many villages dispose of their trash by throwing it into any nearby bush. People who give proper disposal of waste a modicum of attention typically dig a pit in which other individuals can deposit their garbage.
At other times, waste disposal is done on an open field somewhere in the vicinity of the village. This frequently leaves the people living there with an unpleasant sight and odour to deal with. There is not a strong or effective policy framework on waste disposal and management anywhere in Nigeria, with the exception of a few megacities such as Lagos, Abuja, and Porthacourt. This is similar to what we saw in Singapore.
As a result, Nigeria, which suffers from a lack of access to reliable sources of electricity, needs to gain some insight from its analogue in Singapore. Because of the large population in the country, one of the things that Nigeria produces the most of is waste, which is an interesting fact to take into consideration.
As we have seen in Singapore’s case, this resource needs to be harnessed so that it can be used to generate electricity. It doesn’t matter how small of a percentage of electricity this might be; it will still be an addition to Nigeria’s ever-evolving and erratic power supply. This will also assist in the effective management of the garbage that is produced across the nation.
According to a report published by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Nigeria produces more than 32 million tonnes of waste every year, with plastic accounting for 2.5 million tonnes of that total. Nigeria is one of the top 20 countries that are responsible for 83 percent of the total volume of land-based plastic waste that ultimately finds its way into the ocean.
Furthermore, the amount of waste generated daily by each Nigerian is estimated to be 0.51 kilogrammes, and it is projected to rise to 107 million tonnes by the year 2050. This development presents both a threat and an opportunity for Nigeria, if harnessed.
