First published on WordPress, February 5, 2013
Yet another month has gone by for the New Year 2013. The Chinese will be celebrating Year of Water Snake beginning this coming Sunday 10-FEB-2013. As usual, the Chinese will be busy paying/ clearing outstanding bills/ tasks before the Lunar New Year for a good auspicious start ahead.
Every other year, I will keep aside/ reuse the new-looking $2/ $10 notes (especially those with lucky 8 in serial no) for red packets (such as CNY 压岁钱 for good luck/ health). Sometimes, I will still need to go to the bank to exchange additional $10 notes for the Lunar New Year. For this year 2013, I am not alone in this green practice. MAS has also issued ‘good-as-new’ $2 notes, along with brand new ones.
Best wishes to all! Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai! 新年快乐！ 恭喜发财！Unfortunately, the land of broken promise (after 1 year anniversary break) resurfaced on recyclable/ recycling (master of selective collection/ schedule/ checklist/ SOP/ …).
Hands-On Green Matters
[ Memories of Nokia X3-02 Phone ]
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① Year of Water Dragon
First published on WordPress, April 19, 2012
Getting through the tough times by overcoming all sort of ugly forces. The unrepentant waves of same continue, without a blink of the eye.
On a thunderstorm morning (on April 2, 2012), the recycling bin (placed at open area) was found lying along the roadside. The first thing that came to my mind was to help the recycling bin to get up on its feet again. However, I was stopped and put off the idea by the sudden violent angry storm of rain/ thunder/ lightning/ wind.
Besides the dull rubbish/ leaves, I had again removed colourful stuff like yellow security vest and purple big balloon. I had also called NPP line regarding the suspicious security vest discarded in the recycling bin. Again, I called NPP line regarding another offensive/ sabotage attack (with dead leaves) on the recycling bin (on April 25, 2012).
On few other occasions, the recycling bin was seen lying along the roadside (on August 3, 2012/ October 9, 2013).
Hands-On Green Matters
[ Memories of Nokia X3-02 Phone ]
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① Recycling Sabotage
First published on WordPress, February 28, 2012
Break time to recuperate from relapse of old injury during NS time. While I was recovering from old injury, the recycling bin also suffered severe degree of attacks (by those who detest recycling to the core). The sabotaged items include packed food/ drink, pile of rubbish, cigarette butt/ box, rotten fruits, dead leaves, and so on.
From March 2011 to March 2012, junk to junk, same to same. Would the leading monkeys continue to enjoy the up-to-no-good business, or turn over a new leaf to do straight-through clean job?
Hands-On Green Matters
[ Memories of Nokia X3-02 Phone ]
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① More Recycling Sabotage
First published on WordPress, February 7, 2012
The HDB common area and walk path have become dumping ground for the cleaner, a certain group downstairs and few other bad eggs. Monkeys see, monkeys do. The rubbish and bulk items will eventually accumulate and obstruct the way as the day passes by.
In the morning, the cleaner (the first monkey) would dump bulk items at the common area. I told him to move these bulk items to the bulk area which was just few steps away. Even though the day was still young and bright, his reply was tomorrow. As he turned a deaf ear to my kind advice, I demonstrated to him that it took just few seconds to get the bulk items over to the bulk area.
Before the Chinese New Year (on January 20, 2012), a certain group (the second monkey) celebrated CNY with 8 cartons of Mandarin Oranges, some Huat Kuey (or prosperity cake) and Happy Nut (or pistachio). The aftermath of the occasion was the carton boxes and foods were irresponsibly dumped at the common area till night-time. As another challenge, it took me 1-2 minutes (please excuse me for some photo taking) to clear the mess over to the rubbish area (again just few steps away), and to place the flatten carton boxes inside the recycling bin.
After going around looking for some clues, I found an old message Make Gracious Living Our Way of Life on the notice board, which ironically, was just right next to the messy dumping ground.
Hands-On Green Matters
[ Memories of Nokia X3-02 Phone ]
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① Miserable State of Junk Dry Riser
First published on WordPress, December 13, 2011
Even though after many months and years, the relevant people still conveniently choose to put the blame on the residents (as easy scapegoat) for the unintended litter from junk mails (from SingPost and errant runners) without a proper place (in Sengkang). It seems too tough to take on the recycling suggestions (or some other solutions) on junk mails.
As too much time has already been wasted, the relevant people can choose not to continue to ignore the suggestions of many people from the past till now. It seems also too tough to come out of the sleeping mode, and to take steps to work on reducing wastage from junk mails.
In a nutshell, the relevant people can actually take many meaningful steps to try to reach to the point where no stone will be left unturned. Everyone seems to be just good at using the mouth to echo the tone of environmental awareness, and adopting one-step forward, two-steps back mentality towards a sustainable, clean and green environment in Singapore.
1. For house-to-house junk mails, TC can put up a No Junk Mail HDB Block sticker (or poster) on every block to dissuade the mal-practice of bad apple advertisers.
2. In addition to the designated letter boxes, TC can also provide additional designated slots on the ground floor for advertisers.
3. On my part, I have always brought all my post mails home, and put aside junk mails at my own little recycling corner.
4. For unintended litter from junk mails, TC can put up a row of recycle junk mail box (or something feasible) for residents in Sengkang.
5. Residents can start to learn and help to dump the junk mails into the proper recycling depository (or correct place) for junk mails.
6. Environment friendly people can take up the green responsibility to clear the junk mail box to the designated recycle point.
7. NEA can then focus on real litter from cigarette butts, empty drinks/ food and tissue papers thrown around HDB areas.
8. NEA is aware of the national issue of littering island wide, and will arrange more stakeouts to monitor the situation of littering.
9. NEA has a long-term plan for one recycling bin per HDB block (for Sengkang maybe on year 2014), with recycling bins placed at open areas within HDB estates.
10. NEA has also explained its restraint from putting up recycling bin at void deck (as suggested by TC) due to fire hazard.
11. The unintended litters from junk mails have become many hot spots for fire hazards, and also pose safety hazards to HDB residents, especially the elderly.
12. There were actually many requests since many years back (from internet searches), but seems that nothing much has been done regarding junk mail?
13. For returned mail, residents should be advised to discard rejected addressed letters into SingPost Return Mail letter box.
14. Few months back, many residents had received copies of IKEA catalog (374 pages, value @ $5.00) and Spring publication (41 pages, value @ $1.00?).
15. However, there were few copies of IKEA and Spring (now heartbeat) found discarded around letter box area, which I put the unwanted copies into SingPost Return Mail letter box.
16. Hopefully SingPost would be socially responsible to collect back the still useful material and returned all unwanted catalog to IKEA.
17. Government can play a more positive and proactive part to promote a clean and green environment.
18. Government can give green tax rebate to companies which take extra green effort in corporate social responsibility.
19. Government can present and recognize TC and residents’ extra green effort in TC Management Report.
20. Government can give small green S&CC rebate (every quarterly?) to household, using TC report as a gauge.
21. NEA has put in place various awareness programmes and schemes to promote a sustainable environment.
22. The unwanted junk mails can easily fill up one plastic bag in a week (per HDB block), and can fill up at least one A4 paper carton box in the recycling bin (for every 3 HDB blocks).
23. It will not be sustainable to have the huge junk mails taking up extra spaces in landfills, and continue to be buried together with disposed waste.
24. Hopefully everybody can commit and work together towards a sustainable, clean and green environment.
Hands-On Green Matters
[ Memories of Nokia X3-02 Phone ]
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① From Zero Point to … Zero Point
First published on WordPress, December 8, 2011
The recycling truck and waste truck that SembWaste used (in Sengkang) are the same kind of truck, differentiated by the have/ have-not of the recycling logo. This is not the only point where the confusion comes from. The other confusions concern the collection schedule and routine (or SOP).
On the first week of September 2011, many recycling bins were not cleared for more than 10 days, as the weekly schedule on Friday was missed. While I was on bus ride and way back home on the next day, many recycling bins around Sengkang were still loaded with recyclables. Even though I called SembWaste line on Saturday afternoon, no follow-up action was done to cover up the mistake. NEA had reminded SembWaste to check and clear the recycling bins on Tuesday, but some recycling bins were strangely still not cleared as what NEA mentioned. NEA would impose penalties for the performance lapse, and the recycling bins would have to wait for next schedule date to be cleared.
On another week of November 2011 (about 3 weeks ago), some recycling bins were not cleared on the weekly schedule on Friday. The cleaner was looking at recycling bin at night, so I asked him why the recycling bin was not cleared. He said it was very simple – Tomorrow after the rubbish truck dumped the rubbish, then the rubbish truck would dump everything in recycling bin as well. The recycling bin near my block was unmistakably cleared (or dumped away?) the next day.
The recycling manager (from SembWaste) replied that the recycling bins were cleared on a weekly schedule date, and the officer had checked the collection sheet to confirm that the collection was done according to schedule. With the messed up answered, the recycling effort and the recyclables will not gone wasted from now on?
Looking back at year 2011, I had sent 2 smses (on December 17 and 23) to the recycling manager on collection schedule. After that, the recycling manger had kept words on schedule date for some time. Again for year 2012, the recycling bin was not cleared for more than 10 days (from February 10). Yet again for year 2013, I had sent sms (on March 5) on the same old story (checklist/ SOP/ …) after 1 year break. Based on my observations, the recycling bins are cleared twice weekly nowadays.
Recalling my long-time request 2 years ago (year 2011) to shift back the recycling bin due to confusion, the recycling bin near my block was finally moved back to the earlier location on December 2013.
Hands-On Green Matters
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① Sticky Issues on Recycling Bin
First published on WordPress, December 6, 2011
NEA has a long-term plan for one recycling bin per HDB block (for Sengkang maybe on year 2014), with recycling bins placed at open areas within HDB estates. NEA has also explained its restraint from putting up recycling bin at void deck due to fire hazard.
Every other week, empty carbon boxes are discarded by the drinking machine vendor into recycling bin placed at open space, except that theses items will get wet when raining. As the recycling bin is cleared once a week, some housekeeping will also need to be done to flatten the carton boxes to free up more space.
Occasionally, some saboteurs will purposely throw packed food and drink into the recycling bin, making themselves the biggest nuisance to recycling effort. Other lazy and greedy scavengers will dig into recycling bins and take away valuable items (such as can drink) to get some extra income from recycling. It seems more appropriate for me to leave the empty can drinks at other places so that these people will not mess up the recycling bin.
On recycling scavenger, I came across an old woman (fishing aluminum cans with a stick) and a middle-aged couple (digging out stuff from recycling/ rubbish bin, but sadly mess up everywhere). I told them that the recyclables I put inside (now mostly junk mail/ plastic bottle/ container) were not what they were looking for. These needy people are not afraid of stealing unwanted valuable trash to get some extra money in return.
On recycling saboteur, I had removed other sabotaged items, like plastic bag of coffee/ pile of rubbish/ cigarette butt/ box, from the recycling bin. I even found strange items, like gas cylinder/ renovation stuff, thrown inside the recycling bin.
All in all, recycling bin seems to be a good repository for few valuable items, such as junk mail/ paper, plastic/ glass bottles and plastic/ metal containers. Interestingly, there are people aiming at the junk mails in the recycling bins (with third attempt just last week), but not bother with those thrown elsewhere. Who are the real culprits behind the stolen junk mails, the saboteurs or the scavengers?
Hands-On Green Matters
[ Memories of Nokia X3-02 Phone ]
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① Mistaken Identity of Recycling Truck
