S’pore makes digital ‘passport’ to track plastic items to boost recycling


FILE PHOTO: This photograph taken on May 26, 2023 shows mangrove trees (L) planted on Semakau island, which serves as Singapore's offshore landfill. Welcome to Pulau Semakau, an eco-friendly trash island where ash from the incinerated garbage of the land-scarce city's nearly six million people are dumped. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN/ AFP)/ TO GO WITH "SINGAPORE-CLIMATE-ENVIRONMENT-WASTE,FEATURE" BY MARTIN ABBUGAO

SINGAPORE: Singapore is creating what is said to be a world-first digital “passport” for plastics to boost recycling as its sole landfill in Semakau is running out of space in 10 years.

The digital passport system tags plastic at a molecular level to track its provenance and recycling. The records are written on a blockchain, allowing the irrefutable passport data about the plastic’s origin, composition, reuse cycles and disposal to be exchanged among plastic manufacturers, recycling firms and the authorities for auditing purposes.

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