Team Blitz Technical Report Introduction Draft #3

 

1.1 Background Information 

Singapore's overall waste disposal had been reducing since 2016. According to the National Environmental Agency (n.d),  overall waste disposed of 2,841 tonnes in 2020 while in 2019, Singapore had 2,984 tonnes. However, recycling rates were reduced from 59 percent in 2019 to 52 percent in 2020. 

Generally, the method of waste collection is dependent on human efforts. Cleaners are employed to ensure that their assigned areas are clean, public waste collectors will collect from a centralised location using specialised vehicles. Other than general waste collection, based on National Environmental Agency (n.d), there are dedicated recycling trucks that only collect recyclables. Collected recyclables are sent to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to be sorted into different waste streams, and sent to local and overseas recycling plants. According to the National Environmental Agency (n.d) the number of licensed sanitation workers in 2013 was 70 000 and in 2018 it had reduced to 56 000. This shows a large decrease of 14 000 sanitation workers. 

According to Nakou.D. (2014), efficiency is defined by comparing the financial performance of both the PWCS and the current system. The current system of solid waste disposal has multiple small bins to collect waste at many different points. Then sanitation workers go to each point to collect the waste and haul it to a collection point for garbage trucks to pick up and bring to an incineration plant. This is inefficient as to collect the waste from all the points, many sanitation workers need to be hired for each building. Bergenwall, J. (2021) stated that an average foreign worker in the waste collection industry has a salary of 1200-1300 SGD per month and that the implementation of PWCS reduces the need for manpower by 70% for residential areas. On a larger scale, garbage trucks use a lot of fuel to collect waste. Using PWCS, we can reduce the points that garbage trucks need to go to collect waste and save on fuel which will reduce costs. 

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM, n.d), the minimum cost of hiring a general indoor cleaner will rise from $1,274 in 2021 to $2,420 in 2029. Therefore, with the increase in cost of labour progressively over the years, seeking alternative methods of waste management is crucial.

A waste collection system that works efficiently without human input, capable of sending the waste straight to a sorting facility and is capable of sealing the waste before workers can collect it to prevent pests which are vectors of diseases to consume any food waste would be an ideal system going into the future. Such a system will reduce the burden on manual labour and garbage trucks. A waste collection system similar to this does exist, the pneumatic waste collection system. According to an article written by researchers from University of Helsinki, it is a system that uses vacuum to transport waste through underground pipelines from a waste inlet to a waste terminal. Afterwards, the waste is directed into its own container and full containers can be transported (Henna et al., 2012).

Pneumatic waste conveyance system (PWCS) is efficient in a manner that it resolves multiple problems caused by the current system mentioned above. According to the Housing Development Board (n.d.), PWCS ensures that the waste collection process is automated with the help of long tubes that span up to a few kilometers under the ground. When compared to the traditional waste disposal system which comprises humans going around in trucks to collect wastes, the pneumatic system is way faster and requires less manpower to operate. It cuts down the manpower needed by 70%. The PWSC has a lot to offer in terms of benefits to its stakeholders. Since this is a fully enclosed system, the stench formed during the waste transportation system does not spread into the environment and pollute the air. Pneumatic waste conveyance system makes the process of recycling smoother as there are dedicated chutes for recyclable materials throughout the system. Since PWCS has a lot of benefits when compared to the traditional method, this is the ideal system for waste management.