Team Blitz Technical Report Introduction Draft #1

Introduction

Background information

Singapore's overall waste disposed of 2,841 tonnes in 2020 while in 2019, Singapore had 2,984 tonnes. The overall waste disposal had been reducing since 2016. However, recycling rates were reduced from 59 percent in 2019 to 52 percent in 2020. 

The current waste management system in Singapore is through public waste collectors appointed by the NEA to serve domestics and trade premises by geographical sectors. Waste collection vehicles are driven from location to location and collect waste from rubbish bins or HDB Centralised Refuse Chutes (CRCs). Subsequently, waste is delivered to waste-to-energy-plants or off-shore such as semakau landfill. Other than general waste collection, 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.

We define efficiency based on the money spent to haul the waste. The less money spent hauling the same weight of waste, the more efficient the 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. On a larger scale, garbage trucks have a lot of points to go to in Singapore to collect waste. Using a pneumatic waste conveyance system, we can reduce the points that garbage trucks need to go to collect waste. This will save on fuel and increase efficiency.

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. 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 of humans going around in trucks to collect wastes, the pneumatic system is way faster and requires less manpower to operate. It brings 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.

Problem statement

Currently, outside of new public housing and private estates, there are no buildings using pneumatic waste conveyance system (PWCS). Besides the buildings previously, waste is collected manually by sanitation workers from bins. The current system is currently inefficient as the garbage trucks have multiple collection points to transport these wastes.

Purpose statement

This report proposes to Land Transport Authority (LTA) to install a pneumatic waste management system in their upcoming integrated transport hub at Choa Chu Kang in 2026 to create a more efficient waste management system.

Reference List

Punkkinen, H., Merta, E., Teerioja, N., Moliis, K., & Kuvaja, E. (2012). Environmental sustainability comparison of a hypothetical pneumatic waste collection system and a door-to-door system. Waste Management, 32(10), 1775–1781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.05.003