# Cool method to dispose of a city's trash!



## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)

Bio-treasure Isle

18 Jul 05

*Semakau Landfill, an island where trash is dumped, now open to public to enjoy its rich biodiversity*

By Sarah Ng











BY 2045, Singapore will have a brand new island as big as Sentosa - created out of incinerated trash.

But the public won't have to wait that long to enjoy the island. They can now fish, birdwatch and look at the marine life on mangrove mudflats there.

Semakau Landfill is the name of this new island, located 7km from Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal.

The National Environment Agency is creating it by joining two islands - Pulau Semakau and Pulau Sakeng - with a man-made, saltwater lagoon where the rubbish will be dumped.

It is enclosed by a 7km-long rock bund, which is lined with an impermeable membrane and marine clay to prevent the trash from seeping out. The lagoon is also divided into several ponds, into which the rubbish is dumped.

Water is pumped out of the ponds and trash is compacted into them. As the ponds get filled up with rubbish, they are turfed over with grass and the island takes shape bit by bit.

The landfill took four years to build, and the first phase of construction cost $610 million. The second phase, which will involve building more ponds, will start after the present 11 ponds are filled. With more waste being recycled, the landfill can now last until 2045.

Despite the trash being dumped there, the island is not smelly. That's because only ash and non-organic waste such as construction materials are put in.

It is also home to rich marine life such as barracuda, trevally, sea bass and milk fish. It also has 54 species of birds such as the endangered great-billed heron, the Pacific reef egret and the Malaysian plover. Its mangrove mudflats are bigger than 20 football fields and are rich with seagrass, giant sea anemones and sea urchins.

People can visit the island, but they will have to book their visits through three recreational and nature groups - the Sport Fishing Association Singapore (SFAS), Nature Society Singapore and the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

The SFAS will conduct monthly fishing trips that cost $40 per person. The other two groups are still working out schedules for guided tours.

The landfill is an example of how a rubbish dump and environment conservation can co-exist, said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. He opened it for recreation on Saturday morning.

Speaking to reporters after a tour of the landfill, Dr Yaacob said: 'One possibility is opening this up to schools for excursions. We can build basic facilities for them to spend the night here so that they can do a bit of stargazing and birdwatching.'

About 350 guests visited the scenic and breezy landfill on Saturday, including 150 people from 40 families who used to live on Pulau Sakeng. They moved to the mainland in 1994 to make way for the project.

Mr Teo Yen Eng, 81, who lived on Pulau Sakeng for more than 30 years with his brother Yen Tek, 74, was among them. The two men used to run a provision shop on the island.

'The best thing about this place is the fresh air and lack of pollution. I'm glad it's still the same now, even though it has become a rubbish dump,' said the elder Mr Teo.

Said another former resident, Mr Haji Chani Dualip, 60: 'It's good that it is now open to the public, so more people can come and enjoy its beauty.'

Those keen on visiting the landfill should contact Sport Fishing Association Singapore at www.sfas.net , the Nature Society at [email protected], or the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at rmbr.nus.edu.sg


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## Effer (Jun 9, 2005)

Cool!


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## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)

Some posters of this new island now


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## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)




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## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)

2 more posters


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## Compaq (Mar 5, 2005)

I dont get it, what has this island with all this nature and animals, got to do with this trash?


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## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)

Compaq said:


> I dont get it, what has this island with all this nature and animals, got to do with this trash?


its _made_ from the trash


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## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)

*This may be a dumping ground, but it looks like an Idyllic resort*









*Welcome to Pulau Semakau landfill, where 2000 tonnes of waste are deposited daily*

DO YOU know that Singapore’s only landfill for waste disposal, situated in the South West Community Development Concil (SWCDC) district, used to be part of the sea linking the southern islands of Semakau and Sakeng?

To create the 350ha Pulau Semakau Offshore Landfill, the sea lying east of Pulau Semakau and south of Pulau Sakeng was enclosed by a 7km perimeter bund. In the process, Pulau Sakeng was enlarged through reclamation. The project, which started in 1995, took four years to complete at a cost of about $610 million.

Every night, two barges carry tonnes of non-incinerable waste and incineration ash from the Tuas Marine Transfer Station on the mainland to the offshore landfill, a three hour journey in all. On arrival at the landfill, the barges are emptied, a process which takes about six hours. The refuse then makes a final journey to the tipping site for disposal. 

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), which manages the Pulau Semakau Offsore Landfill, every consideration was given during the construction phase to protect the marine ecosystem, especially the mangroves and corals in the vicinity of the landfill. For example, about 13 hectares of mangrove were replanted at Pulau Semakau to replace those that were removed during the construction of the perimeter bund. The mangrove also serves as a biological indicator for the proper and ecologically safe operation of the landfill.

Pulau Semakau Offshore Landfill became Singapore’s only landfill when the last of the old dumping grounds at Lorong Halus reached capacity and was closed in 1999. You may wonder why we need a landfill when the bulk of our waste is incinerated in Singapore's four government incineration plants, which are also managed by the NEA. The problem is not all waste can be burnt. About 8 per cent, which cannot be burnt, needs landfill sites, as does incineration ash. About 7,000 tonnes of solid waste are incinerated daily, resulting in about 1,400 tonnes of ash to be disposed of daily at the Pulau Semakau landfill.









*An aerial view of the Pulau Semakau Offshore Landfill, enclosed by the 7km bund (above). From the visitors’ lookout at the southern gap of the landfill (left picture, above), one can see the islands of Senang, Pawai and Sudong and even Indonesia on a clear day.*

Another 600 tonnes per day for the landfill comes from waste that cannot be incinerated - including solid construction waste and sludge and slag from industrial uses making a daily total of 2000 tonnes. To introduce more greenery to the landfill, the SWCDC organised a first-ever tree-planting session there on Nov 5, which was attended by about 100 participants, including Mayor of SWCDC district Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, other MPs, students, CDC councillors and resource persons, and grassroots leaders.

In all, some 360 coastal trees were planted, including the Sea Grape, which bears fruits that grow in bunches, resemble grapes, and can be eaten like all other grapes. Participants also enjoyed a guided tour of the mangrove vegetation that day, in an event aimed at cultivating community involvement towards nature awareness.


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## Bikkel (Jun 8, 2005)

with the perspective from someone from the NL

this is very 1960's

in 2005 you should:
-generate energy from faeces
-use sorted trash to manufacture (hard plastics etc)
-transport trash at the least cost and hassle - like in Arnhem where trash will be shot through tunnels

I fail to see the coolness of dumping trash in coral ponds, sorry


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## Accura4Matalan (Jan 7, 2004)

I dont like it. At a time where resources will soon be running low, we should be recycling, not making more land.


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## Imperfect Ending (Apr 7, 2003)

looks too good to stay good


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## asianguy (Jul 10, 2005)

These are trash that are not recycled, e.g. metals will be extracted and recycled. Organic materials are burnt to generate steam for Power turbines, and the ashes that are left over are dumped in landfills. 

Like Macau and HK, Singapore doesn't have much land, so their idea is to create more land this way. 

But mixing it with Coral tourism is a bad idea.


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## VansTripp (Sep 29, 2004)

Yeah, Why does they don't need swim there?


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## DarkFenX (Jan 8, 2005)

Cool idea but I think it might not work as well as they think.


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## asianguy (Jul 10, 2005)

DarkFenX said:


> Cool idea but I think it might not work as well as they think.


The idea will work as the trash lagoon is created by damming the sea around one side of the island, so whatever trash that goes in is separated from the sea. The other side of the island is where the coral lies.

The problem with the idea is - why mix ecological tourism with a man-made dump site?


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## RafflesCity (Sep 11, 2002)

I guess this is an issue which is important to Singapore, a very tiny country.

I see this as a win-win situation. Its too soon to say what the future will hold although right now, the new 'rubbish' island is starting to support life.

On the one hand it creates more land space (and Singapore has been actively reclaiming land), on the other hand, it helps promote ecological awareness as well as create tourism potential. A "uniquely Singaporean" approach.


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## hyacinthus (Nov 22, 2004)

I am positive about it. It's like what they did to Newater. Refreshingly bright idea


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## Devilution (Nov 12, 2003)

Could be a good idea but for some reason I´m always a tad skeptical about these "tampering with nature" type of projects...
I just hope everything goes as planned and there are no unexpected consequences. Marine ecosystems aren´t very thoroughly understood so there just might be some problems emerging later.


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## asianguy (Jul 10, 2005)

hyacinthus said:


> I am positive about it. It's like what they did to Newater. Refreshingly bright idea


Mixing eco-ethnics with commerical trash disposal isn't normal, look at what happened when we mix charity fund raising with market-level CEO pay. ... Money breeds Greed.


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## rark (Dec 20, 2004)

Bikkel said:


> with the perspective from someone from the NL
> 
> this is very 1960's
> 
> ...


all the thrash that make up Semakau are non-incinerable materials 

you must see the situation in another light, from the perspective of a land-scarce nation.Besides, this is no different from any other land reclaimation project for it does not create any environmental problems or neither does it affect the natural habitats. 

I'm all for it


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## wonuraimo (Mar 13, 2009)

More land is always good.


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