Life of a PET Bottle

A panel discussion and an investigative look behind-the-scenes of plastic recycling in Singapore, starting from Recycle Right bins on campus.

Synopsis:

Where do our plastic recyclable bottles go? 

What is the environmental impact of recycling my plastic bottle? 
What can we do, as individuals and organisations, to close our waste loop?

Sparked by questions from NUS students, we bring together a panel discussion with representation across the life cycle of a plastic bottle, including manufacturers, recycling collectors, government agencies and the NUS community.

This event is organised by NUS Zero Waste Task Force, in support of NUS Sustainability CONNECT.

Our Panel:

  • Moderated by Mr Goh Wee Hong (Deputy Executive Director, Singapore Environment Council)
  • Mr Edric Ong (Student and member of NUS Zero Waste Taskforce)
  • Prof Leonard Lee (Director, Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk (IPUR), NUS)
  • Mr Jakob Lambsdorff (CEO, ALBA Singapore)
  • Ms Danielle Zheng (Deputy Director, Environmental Policy, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment)
  • Ms Kimberly Lai (Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Manager, The Coca-Cola Company)

Sign up link and QR code:

Meet the Panelist

Moderator - Mr Goh Wee Hong

Wee Hong as an accomplished leader in General Management, Business and Client Development, Product Commercialisation and Management, Operations Excellence, and Business Transformation, takes on a wide range of responsibilities in leading Asia Pacific Commercial, Operations and drive profit & loss of Business unit with Euro 40m annual sales. With extensive experience of close to 30 years in the diverse industries covering Engineering Services, Information & Communications Technology, ESG & Sustainability and Advanced Manufacturing, he possesses a strong background in APAC business development, team leadership, partnership development, leading cross functional team and enhanced customer experiences.

Wee Hong helps both MNCs and SMEs in ASEAN region to embark on ESG journey, enable products to achieve green certification, and developed new ESG training program for SMEs, he represented certification bodies and sit in Standard Development Committee, and TIC working group.

Wee Hong received a MBA from National University of Singapore, and Master of Science in Information Studies from Nanyang Technological University.

Mr Edric Ong

Edric is a Year 3 Biomedical Engineering student at NUS. He contributes actively to advance zero waste goals on campus and beyond, through two projects that he had kick started with like-minded peers. Plastic Evo to give a new life to typically non-recyclable plastics and The Plastic Story – an investigative study on where our plastic recyclables go.

Professor Leonard Lee

Leonard Lee is the Director of Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk (IPUR), and Professor of Marketing at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore (NUS). His research investigates how emotional and cognitive factors influence consumer judgments and decision making, with applications in public policy domains such as healthcare and sustainability. Leonard is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing. He received a BSc in Computer and Information Sciences from NUS, a MS in Computer Science from Stanford University, and a PhD in Management (Marketing) from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Mr Jakob Lambsdorff

Jakob Graf Lambsdorff is the CEO of ALBA Singapore. In this role, he is responsible for the two operating ALBA entities in Singapore: ALBA W&H Smart City and ALBA E-Waste Smart Recycling. ALBA W&H is a Public Waste Collector appointed by the National Environment Agency. ALBA E-Waste is appointed by NEA to operate the first of its kind Producer Responsibility Scheme for electronic waste.

He is also responsible for the development of ALBA Smart City projects in Southeast Asia. The ALBA Smart City business unit is transforming traditional waste management practices with innovative, scalable, and highly digitalized solutions aimed at improving environmental standards. Currently ALBA is developing Smart City projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Jakob holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of St Gallen (Switzerland) as well as a Master’s degree in Finance from ESADE (Spain) and a CEMS Master in International Management from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (India). He is based in Singapore, is a member of the Advisory Council of the Plastics Recycling Association of Singapore and is the Vice-Chairman of the Sustainability Committee of the Singapore-German Chamber of Commerce.

Ms Danielle Zheng

Danielle is Deputy Director, Environmental Policy at the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, where she oversees policies on circular economy, zero waste, and environmental protection. She has spent her working life in the public service, first as a teacher in a secondary school, and then in policy and planning roles in education, home affairs, and digitalisation. She graduated from NUS with a BA in English Literature.

Ms Kimberly Lai

Kimberly Lai is the Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Manager for Singapore at The Coca-Cola Company, as part of the ASEAN and South Pacific Operating Unit. In her role, Kimberly leads dialogues with key local and regional stakeholders, including government, industry, and NGOs, to drive Coca-Cola’s strategic priorities in the areas of sustainability and health amongst others.

In addition, Kimberly serves on the Advisory Committee on the Packaging Partnership Programme, an initiative in partnership between the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and the National Environment Agency to support companies on their journey towards more sustainable packaging waste management.