LQ @ Lorong Halus Wetland

Lorong Halus was once one of Singapore's sole landfill and was operated between the early 1970's and the late 1990's for about 30 years. The Lorong Halus landfill housed solid waste accumulated over 30 years. Waste such as municipal solid waste, construction debris, incineration ash, inert fill and stabilised hazardous waste were deposited in this landfill. 

Night soil are toilet waste, stool, dung etc. It’s not a commonly-used word now. It refers to the waste that is carted out of the toilet. In Singapore before the introduction of the flushed toilet, night soil was collected in buckets. Every day, a collector would come and collect the filled bucket and replace with an empty one. The filled bucket is slotted to a truck with built-in compartments as shown.

**Students to recall from Sec 1 History Textbook**

WHY is night soil relevant for Lorong Halus? 

Lorong Halus was also used as a Treatment Facility where night soil was processed. That means all the poop were collected and dumped here. It was the last waste disposal station and only closed in 1987. Now look around you. 

Does this place still smell of poop or rubbish? 

Lorong Halus has gone through a major transformation from its past as a rubbish dump. There were always illegal dumping and constant complaints about its foul smells, open fires and pollution of the surrounding natural habitat. The Halus Dumping ground officially closed on 31 March 1999, one day before the Semakau landfill opened. It was then transformed into the Lorong Halus Wetlands (as you see now) and it also serves a very important key function. 

Do you know what function Lorong Halus Wetlands now serve? The Serangoon Reservoir posed a unique problem to PUB. Do you know what this problem is? 

Due to the landfill history, the area is seeped with leachate (i.e. polluted landfill fluids that is environmentally harmful). Unlike other reservoirs, the water needs to be clear of leachate from the landfill. The wetlands now protect the adjacent Serangoon Reservoir’s water quality by collecting and purifying the water leaching from the toxic landfill dump in shallow earth basins before discharging it into the sewage system. For more information on how the process work, encourage the Pax to move around the area and read about the special leaching process of the wetlands. 

Additional Points for Reference: How does the wetlands prevent leachate from entering reservoir water? 

Bentonite Walls are built to prevent leachate from seeping through. The collected leachate is then channelled to the wetlands to be treated before discharging as sewage water. Notice the reed beds and fauna around the area? They are specifically planted so that the plants can help to clean the water too. 

Clean water is readily available to us in Singapore and we often turn on the taps without much of a second thought as to where our water sources come from. A report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) states that come 2040, Singapore will face extremely high water stress in 2040. Amongst the 33 countries identified, Singapore is one of the top 5 countries, meaning we are in serious risk of water shortage.  

Link: Article on water rationing in Singapore in the 1960s.

Our 4 national taps are: 

• Imported Water (Buying water from Malaysia) 

• Reservoirs 

• NEWater (Recycled water) 

• Desalinated Water (Treating sea water) 

Imported Water 

When will our water treaty with Malaysia end? Imported water currently provides for 60% of our local water needs. Our current water treaty with Malaysia will end by 2061 (by which our daily water needs would have doubled!). Coupled with limited land space to collect and store water (how many more reservoirs can we build?), and the global climate change, Singapore is actually a severely water-challenged country. 

Reservoirs 

The 2nd water tap (reservoirs) or local catchment water, which relies on rainwater, is a pillar of Singapore’s sustainable water supply. It provides about 10% of all our water needs. 

How much land area in Singapore is used as water catchment area? About two-thirds of Singapore land. 

How many reservoirs are there in Singapore? Ans: 17 

Which is the first reservoir in Singapore? Ans: MacRitchie 

Which is the most urbanised reservoir? Ans: Marina Reservoir @ the Barrage 

NEWater & Desalination 

NEWater & Desalination are critical if we want to move Singapore towards water sustainability. Much efforts have been put into recycling our water into ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water (or NEWater), cushioning our water supply against dry weather. NEWater can provide about 30% of our water needs and sea-water from desalination can meet about 25%. So, projecting towards 2061, Singapore hopes to be able to supply up till 85% of our water needs through NEWater and desalination. 

Link: Singapore's Water Story Website

How much water do you think an average Singaporean uses a day? 151 litres

What is the minimum amount of water needed by human for survival? 7.5 - 15 litres

Read more: WHO Technical Notes on Water for Emergencies

• Change our attitude towards clean freshwater as being an always constant supply. Learn to view water as a precious resource and to use it wisely. 

• Keep our waterways and reservoirs clean by not littering and not disposing any waste, solid or liquid. 

• Be an ABC Ambassador! Explain to people the consequence of their actions on the waterways if you encounter them. 

How does it feel to be squeezed into such a tight space? What will happen when you really run out of space? 

Singapore was facing such a problem of finding space to “squeeze” the waste generated at Lorong Halus in the 1970-80s. Coupled with limited land space and the need for urban development, Lorong Halus was no longer suitable and sustainable as a landfill. Hence, it shuttered in the 1990s. 

Do you know what happens to our trash today? 

Today, almost all of Singapore’s non-recyclable waste is incinerated, with the ash and some solid waste shipped to a man-made island (Semakau) nearby that doubles as a nature reserve. The tip on Semakau Island was supposed to meet Singapore’s dumping needs until as late as 2045. However due to the amount of waste generated especially plastics, we could fill Semakau island by 2035! 

Then what happens after that? O.M.G!!! 

We have now a 15-year time bomb in the making! Imagine 2035 where we have no more land to dump our trash? What will happen?

Incineration itself is a pollution and we cannot also keep building incinerators. It is critical that we reduce, reuse and recycle our trash now so that we can prolong the lifespan of Semakau. The Singapore government is also working towards the following: 

✓ Treating polluted gas and generating electricity from the incinerators (waste-to-energy). 

✓ Working towards re-using incinerated ash and turning it into sand, called NEWSand for construction purpose. 

Many of us have spotted the recycling blue bins at our estates. Do you know how much of the items placed inside are non-recyclable? 

40% of the items in the bins are non-recyclable because the items are either contaminated or are not disposed of properly. So, we must first learn to start recycling right. Contamination arises when wrong things are thrown into the blue recycling bin, such as food and liquids and when this happens, it will contaminate the rest of the recyclables collected and waste the efforts of everyone. 

So, what can we do as individuals? 

• Use less plastic. Carry your own shopping bags and bring your own bottles. 

• Do not waste food. Buy, order and use only what you need. 

• When you order delivery food, as much as possible, do not opt for disposables. 

• Recycle right! Recyclables must be clean and not contaminated before it can be recycled. No food and drinks! 

• Be a recycling ambassador! Champion the cause and explain and importance of recycling. 

Additional Points for Discussion 

• Should Singapore ban single-use plastic bags? What are the implications? 

• Should Singapore make recycling mandatory like Japan and Germany? E.g. In Germany, if your trash is contaminated, the garbage collector will not pick it up. But in Singapore, how can we enforce this? What are the implications?