SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Gerald Giam (Aljunied Group Representation Constituency [GRC]) pointed out in a Facebook post on Thursday (Jun 12) that there are food and beverage establishments in Singapore where water costs as much as sugary drinks do.
He added that this could lead diners in the direction of less healthy options, which in turn could increase the risk of people suffering from diabetes and obesity.
A few months ago, Mr Giam called on the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) to encourage eateries, even those in coffee shops and malls, to offer low-cost drinking water as a best practice.
He also highlighted a petition recently shared on the Change.org platform, calling for free-flowing tap water in dine-in eateries, which a member of the public had launched.
“In a country where tap water is clean, safe, and abundantly available, it is unjustified to restrict access to tap water, especially in establishments that already impose a 10% service charge. We urge the Singapore Government to mandate that dine-in F&B establishments provide free-flow tap water to all customers at no additional cost,” the petition by Yucai Yee reads.
It points out the advantages of such a move from public health, environmental, and economic perspectives.
Mr Giam, who was re-elected to Parliament for a second term, added that he recognises that from a business standpoint, there is a cost for eateries to offer tap water. He added, however, that this can be recovered when water is offered at cost, and underlined that it should be cheaper than sugary drinks, which would support healthier choices and sustainability goals.
In his March speech, Mr Giam said that a culture of taking a reusable water bottle everywhere should be encouraged as part of the city-state’s sustainability initiatives. This would reduce Singaporeans’ reliance on single-use bottles.
This point was also made by the author of the petition, who noted that Singapore ranks number one in the world in terms of per capita bottled water consumption, at 1,129 litres per person per year.
According to the petition, “Reducing bottled water sales by offering tap water can significantly lower single-use plastic waste and environmental harm.”
In March 2023, similarly, former WP MP Leon Perera also noted that Singapore is the world’s largest user of bottled water. He called on Parliament to distribute more water coolers and dispensers around the island to reduce bottled water use and encourage people to hydrate. /TISG