SINGAPORE: Often listed as one of the more polluted cities in the world, Singapore is hoping to create more green spaces for its residents. The most recent announcement will see HDB estate residents get a massive new park aimed at doing just that. “I am so excited about the potential of this area,” resident James Wong told Bikyamasr.com. “Singapore can use more green spaces for the very stressed out lifestyle we often live.” HDB is partnering local residents to transform existing housing estates into green living spaces by building new cycling tracks, secure bicycle parking facilities and planting more trees and plants. It will also construct underground pipes to transport waste into centralized bins. HDB will hold four roving exhibitions around this pilot neighborhood to showcase the proposed plans and to gather feedback from local residents. 38 blocks of flats with over 3,194 units are involved in the pilot precinct. The local Town Council to introduce a “Save-As-You-Recycle” scheme to encourage waste reduction and recycling. Residents will get to save a dollar per month through the monthly waste collection fee if each household reduces 20 per cent of their waste, which is about 0.5kg of waste per day. That's good news for residents like Wong, who want to see their area clean and pristine. “We can be an example of the future of Singapore's green movement and development, so it is all very exciting,” he added. It comes on the heels of last month, where some 20,000 people took part in the city's largest environmentally-sustainable lifestyle event aimed at showing the city that green is better. “I am here because it is important for Singapore to be a better environmentally sound country, especially considering the global climate issues that are really becoming important to deal with," one participant at the walkathon told Bikyamasr.com. The event was organized by the Singapore Environmental Council (SEC). The walkathon featured two five-kilometer routes through the city: The North and East Walkathon which started at Lavender and Stadium MRT Stations. The New Paper Big Walk was also held in conjunction with the Singapore G1 2012 walkathon and started at The Central above Clarke Quay MRT Station and ended at the Marina Barrage. The event's theme, “Live Green," highlighted the link between the protection of the environment with healthy living and the reduction of carbon footprint. “The key for event organizers, and we have proven it through the Singapore G1 2012, is to organize their events as carbon neutral as possible and to ensure that as little waste as possible is generated," explained Jose Raymond, Executive Director of the SEC, in comments published by local media. He added that this event is proof that “going green need not involve a compromise in creativity."
