With the recent news of the United Nations treaty on plastic pollution, I began to be curious about what the current legislation and policies governing marine plastic pollution are, particularly those relevant to Singapore. Hence in this blog post, I’ll be looking at some national policies and agreements tackling marine plastics in Singapore.
1. Environmental Public Health Act
Under Section 17 of the Environmental Public Health Act, littering is strictly prohibited in public places. This includes waterways such as drains and reservoirs, as well as “the sea abutting on the foreshore”, which are common pathways for plastics to enter the ocean. Given that approximately 80% of marine plastics is from land-based sources (Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd., 2016), such legislation is significant in managing and reducing the input of marine plastics at the source.
2. Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act
The Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act mainly targets pollution from ships, including ballast water, oil, waste matter and of course, plastics. Ships are not allowed to dispose of plastics, such as fishing nets, ropes and garbage bags, in Singapore waters. However, there are a few exemptions. This regulation does not apply if synthetic fishing nets are lost at sea and all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent this from happening. It also does not apply to situations where unintentional ship damage had led to the plastics entering the waters.
3. National Action Strategy on Marine Litter
Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment is in the midst of creating the National Action Strategy on Marine Litter, which will be ready around the middle of this year. The framework of measures will be guided by comments and suggestions from a dialogue with academics, ground-up organisations, the public and private sectors, and members of the public. Part of the dialogue had covered how individuals, organisations and the public sector can collaborate to tackle the issue of marine litter. I am really looking forward to seeing how this will be included and implemented with the framework, as I also hope to contribute
4. ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States
The ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris was launched by the 10 ASEAN member states (including Singapore) last year, in a bid to collaborate and coordinate efforts for an effective response to marine plastic pollution. Developed through consultations with various stakeholders such as ASEAN representatives, technical experts and private companies, the framework will be implemented over 5 years from 2021-2025. The video below summarises some key components of the framework.
Given the transboundary nature of marine debris, I think it is great that countries are not just trying to tackle the problem within their national boundaries but are also working towards regional cooperation for solutions. The framework allows for sharing of expertise, experience and best practices. It also enhances the pool of financing and innovation, and allows economies of scale to be achieved. At the moment, around 1 year into the plan, the exact platforms and activities that will contribute to the realisation of objectives are still in the works and have not yet been released. Nonetheless, I’ll be staying tuned to the ASEAN’s website for updates on this topic.
The policies and agreements covered in this post are specifically targeting marine plastics. Of course, there are many other policies regulating the plastic value chain that will also have an effect on minimising marine plastic pollution. The G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter, which encourages information-sharing and outreach, has compiled a page on all of Singapore’s pollution control and waste management measures relating to plastics. You can check it out if you would like to find out more.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next post!
References
ASEAN Secretariat (2021). ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States – Action Plan Summary. Retrieved from https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/FINAL_210524-ASEAN-RAP-Summary.pdf on 4 March 2022.
Begum, S. (2021). National framework to tackle marine litter expected to be out next year. The Straits Times. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/national-framework-to-tackle-marine-litter-expected-to-be-out-next-year on 6 March 2022.
Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd. (2016). Plastics in the marine environment. Retrieved from http://www.eunomia.co.uk/reports-tools/plastics-in-the-marine-environment/ on 6 March 2022.
The Statutes of the Republic of Singapore (2020). Environmental Public Health Act 1987. Retrieved from https://sso.agc.gov.sg/act/epha1987 on 6 March 2022.
The Statutes of the Republic of Singapore (2020). Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act 1990. Retrieved from https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/PPSA1990 on 6 March 2022.
Towards Osaka Blue Ocean Vision – G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from https://g20mpl.org/about on 6 March 2022.
Towards Osaka Blue Ocean Vision – G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter (n.d.). Singapore – Actions and progress on marine plastic litter. Retrieved from https://g20mpl.org/partners/singapore on 6 March 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2022). Historic day in the campaign to beat plastic pollution: Nations commit to develop a legally binding agreement. Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/historic-day-campaign-beat-plastic-pollution-nations-commit-develop on 4 March 2022.