Recycling Event

In the picture, people are queuing to deposit their recyclable items at a collection point. They are carrying bags of items such as cardboard, drink cans and plastic bottles, and volunteers at the front are helping to sort and weigh them. The queue is orderly and stretches quite far back. What I also noticed is that people of all ages are queuing, including elderly residents and young children with their parents.

My family collected old newspapers and cardboard boxes for a recycling drive at our community centre last year. We had been keeping the newspapers on top of the shoe cabinet for months, so there was a large stack by then, and it took two trips to bring everything down. In return we received a small packet of rice, which my mother found quite amusing. It was a good reason to finally clear the corridor as well.

I feel Singaporeans are willing when the effort is small and the way to do it is clear. Events like this one attract long queues, which shows that people do care, but the same people may not sort their rubbish at home every day because it takes more effort and nobody is watching. I understand that busy families find it hard to add another task, however I believe if recycling were as easy as throwing rubbish down the chute, far more people would do it. That is why I think the solution is to make it convenient rather than to blame people.