Sustainable cities are the way forward

Sustainable cities are the way forward

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Through the blogging I’ve done for the past 11 weeks or so, I introduced several types of pollution that is commonly associated with cities. I emphasised on the importance of placing focus on cities, as these are the places where humans congregate, and anthropogenic activities are centered. We looked at case studies across different cities, and learnt about different methods in which cities use to reduce pollution and become more sustainable. Although many of the case studies I covered portrayed…

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The cost of building a city

The cost of building a city

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When talking about urbanisation, the mental image that comes to mind would most likely be forests and greenery being replaced by concrete buildings and asphalt roads. In the midst of creation of such an urban image, the construction industry plays one of the main roles. The construction sector accounts for around 23% of global air pollution, 50% of the climatic change, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill wastes (Go Contractor, 2017). Every aspect of construction poses clear…

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Basel Convention, Cities’ Collective Solution to Transboundary Waste

Basel Convention, Cities’ Collective Solution to Transboundary Waste

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Following the previous blog post on Guiyu, we learnt of the existence of the Basel Convention, which was introduced as an international agreement to ban transboundary shipment of e-waste. For this post, we delve deeper into the functions of the agreement, and critically evaluate its effectiveness. The Basal Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal opened for signatures in 1989, and came into force three years later in 1992. It is a multilateral agreement…

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Guiyu, the World’s E-waste Dumping Ground

Guiyu, the World’s E-waste Dumping Ground

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How often do you change your phones? With popular mobile companies such as Apple and Samsung releasing new phone models annually, it is very tempting for users to make the switch, often being swayed by FOMO (fear of missing out). In-fact, an average lifespan of a mobile phone is set at around five years, as this will be the period where older models no longer are able to support new software updates. Following human’s current lifestyles of heavy reliance on…

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Food Waste to Food Production

Food Waste to Food Production

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Food waste is one of the biggest waste streams in Singapore and the amount of food waste generated has grown by around 20% over the last 10 years. In 2019, Singapore generated around 744 million kg of food waste. That is equivalent to 2 bowls of rice per person per day (Towards Zero Waste, n.d.). With minimising food waste and increasing the volume of homegrown produce set as a main objective in the Singapore Green Plan 2030, the Tampines Town…

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Singapore’s One and Only Landfill

Singapore’s One and Only Landfill

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Last blog post, we looked at Delhi’s poor waste management system, and saw the health and environmental consequences that came with negligence in building a proper waste disposal facility. Mismanaged landfills are not an uncommon thing in the world, especially in the global south where population and consumption is growing at an exceptional pace, and governments are unable to catch up with the growth. However, there still exist relatively exemplary examples of a good waste management system, which we have…

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Rubbish “Volcanoes”

Rubbish “Volcanoes”

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Just about a week ago, the city Delhi was engulfed in thick black smoke. The origins of the smoke can be traced back to the Ghazipur landfill, standing at a massive 65 metres tall and spanning across 70 acres wide (The Print, 2020). The landfill is one of the main dumping ground for the populous capital of India, receiving 2,000 tonnes of garbage dumped into it each day. Landfill fires are not an uncommon sight in Delhi, where landfills are…

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Where do I throw this away?

Where do I throw this away?

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Following the trend of rising population and increase in consumption, waste generation has also increased massively around the world. It is predicted that by 2050, worldwide municipal solid waste generation will hit 3.4 billion tonnes, that is 300kg worth of trash per person in a year (Statista, 2018)! With huge volumes of waste being generated yearly, cities are faced with the issue of having enough resources to collect and dispose of the municipal waste generated within its boundaries. To understand…

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Using phone data to track noise pollution in the city

Using phone data to track noise pollution in the city

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Following previous blog posts highlighting the dire health and environmental impacts of urban noise pollution, strategies of tackling noise pollution in the city quickly became top priority of the city planners. In order to implement noise pollution strategies, the first step needed is to have sufficient data describing sources and concentration of the noise. Typical data collection method today tend to be expensive and complex, hence novel solutions that can cut back these costs are greatly welcomed by noise pollution…

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Muffling the sounds of a city

Muffling the sounds of a city

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Following the previous blog, we see how noise pollution is an insidious source of pollution that plagues bustling cities. We looked at the health impacts as well as city guidelines to mitigate such impacts, but how exactly do we attempt to muffle the sounds of a city? Most cities with good planning stem noise pollution at the very start, during the urban planning stages. Factors such as volume of traffic, vehicle distribution and urban density, all contribute to noise exposure…

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