INTRODUCTION
The Korean liquor industry has been growing steadily under the government’s institutional regulations and protective measures. Since the late 2000s, however, the competitive environment has been changing structurally due to changes in consumer preferences such as the opening of...
Comment
You may also like
2016.11.09
2,703
INTRODUCTION
The provision of clean and safe water is one of the most basic public services offered by local governments. One of the major concerns of local governments during Japan's era of high economic growth in the 1970s is related to how they would satisfy the increasing water demand from...
2014.11.10
3,079
Zhen Zhong
Assistant Professor
School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
Renmin University of China
Since the start of the 11th Five-year Plan, China’s Ministry of Agriculture has followed the instructions on development of water-saving agriculture from the...
The south-east Asian nation's water agency, the Public Utilities Board (PUB), teamed up with award-winning local craft brewery Brewerkz to produce the drink, which was first unveiled at a conference in 2018 and went on sale in supermarkets and at Brewerkz outlets in April.
Named NEWBrew, the beverage is crafted with NEWater, a Singaporean brand of drinking water recycled from sewage. According to PUB, NEWater is high-grade reclaimed water produced from treated used water that is further purified using advanced membrane technologies and ultra-violet disinfection, removing contaminants and making it ultra-clean and safe to drink. The highly treated reclaimed wastewater is produced by PUB and has been in circulation since 2003 to improve the island's water security.
In a statement, PUB said the launch of the beer, a blonde ale, is part of a mission to educate Singaporeans about the importance of recycling and using water sustainably.
The concept of recycling sewage into drinking water has been gaining traction in recent years as concerns mount over the global supply of freshwater. According to the World Wildlife Fund, freshwater - the water we drink, bathe in and irrigate farm fields with - is incredibly rare. Only 3 percent of the world's water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for use.
According to the WWF's estimates, 1.1 billion people lack access to water and 2.7 billion experience water scarcity at least one month a year. By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population may be facing water shortages. Inadequate sanitation is also a problem for 2.4 billion people who are exposed to diseases, such as cholera and typhoid fever, and other water-borne illnesses.
However, the concept isn't entirely new. Other breweries have experimented with crafting beer out of recycled sewage in recent years, including Nya Carnegie Brewery in Stockholm, Sweden. The brewery partnered with Carlsberg, one of the world's leading brewery groups, and the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute to launch a pilsner made with purified sewage. Village Brewery in Canada also teamed up with researchers from the University of Calgary and Xylem - a US water technology company - to create their own take on the initiative.
Read more here.