Ideating innovative solutions to tackle plastic bottled water consumption in Singapore

Singapore, being a small island nation with limited freshwater resources, relies heavily on imported bottled water to meet its drinking water needs. The consumption of plastic bottled water in Singapore has been a significant environmental concern due to its impact on plastic waste generation and the environment.

On 23 March 2023, a report by think-tank United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health found that Singapore ranked first for global annual revenue and volume of water sold per capita in 2021. In comparison, the United States, Indonesia and Malaysia ranked significantly lower in both per capita bottled water consumption and revenue compared with Singapore.

This salient issue took centre stage on 1 and 8 July at the UNLEASH Hacks Singapore 2023 – a local innovation sprint for young people to address the region’s Sustainable Development Goals. IPUR had the opportunity to work with two groups tackling our focus area, “Tackling plastic waste: Addressing Singapore’s paradox of safe tap water and excessive bottled water consumption while combating marine pollution.” A further two groups joined remotely to tackle the same focus area.

From developing an app to encourage users to refill their re-usable bottles at public dispensers to working with hotels to provide re-usable bottles to guests, the final pitch presentations were filled with creativity and accounted for key considerations such as budget and feasibility. 

National efforts have already begun to address this issue. It was reported on 15 May 2023 that all hotels, food and beverage operators and attractions on Sentosa island would stop giving out plastic bottled water by the end of the year, saving at least two million plastic bottles a year. 

Following the Hack, IPUR is currently working with the groups to scale their ideas to create community engagement and realise societal impact.