“Sewer” beer, an innovative proposal from Singapore in the face of water scarcity and climate change

In the sprawling United Nations pavilion where climate talks are taking place and where countries, nonprofits and tech companies use large, brightly colored banners to draw the attention of thousands of people passing by. , small aquamarine and purple beverage cans are conspicuously placed on a counter in the Singapore display.

Those who come find out that the cans are beer – a brand called NEWBrew – and are delivered free to whoever asks for them. But there’s something that not everyone who opens a can realizes right away, if at all: The beer is made with treated wastewater.

“I didn’t know. I was very surprised,” said Ignace Urchil Lokouako Mbouamboua, an international relations student from Congo, who recently sipped while taking a break from the lecture.

“I can even suggest that they make more and more of this type of beer,” Mbouamboua added with a smile, reporting that it was the third day in a row that he went for a can.

NEWBrew is brewed in Singapore with NEWater, the name of the treated wastewater that is part of a national campaign to conserve every last drop in one of the most water-scarce places in the world.

The drink, which some attendees jokingly call “sewer beer,” is one of many examples of innovations related to climate and environment on display during this year’s climate talks, COP29, being held in Azerbaijan.

Highlighting the use of treated wastewater underlines one of the world’s most pressing problems as climate change accelerates: provide drinking water to an increasingly large population.

Singapore has been leading the way in water management and innovation for years. The island city of 6 million people in Southeast Asia, one of the most densely populated countries, lacks natural water sources.

In addition to importing water from Malaysia, the other pillars of the national strategy are harvesting, desalination and recycling. The authorities have stated that they need to enhance all water sourcesas demand is expected to double between now and 2065.

While drinking treated wastewater is a novelty for many climate conference attendees, it is not for Singaporeans. National campaigns, ranging from calls for water conservation to showing wastewater recycling, began decades ago.

In 2002, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was photographed drinking a bottle of NEWater after a tennis match in order to normalize its consumption.

Ong Tze-Ch’in, chief executive of the Public Utilities Board, Singapore’s national water body, said NEWBrew was developed by a local brewery in 2018. The idea was to showcase the treated wastewater at International Water Week , which is celebrated every two years in the country. The beer was then brewed in 2022, 2023 and again this year.

“It’s part of the acceptance of using recycled water, which is generally a difficult issue,” Ong said. “We did a lot of things to promote it.”

And are you happy with the result?

“I chose this flavor,” Ong said, adding that he was part of the group that worked with the brewery for this year’s version, a “modern pilsner.”

“Beer is always very subjective,” he said with a laugh.

After attending a panel on water management at the Singapore pavilion, Peter Rummel, director of infrastructure policy advocacy at Bentley Systems, which creates infrastructure engineering software, walked up to the counter and poured himself a beer. Rummel told viewers he was in a good position to judge the beer, having hailed from Munich, home of the Oktoberfest beer festival.

“It is fresh and light. It tastes nice,” Rummel said, looking at the can.

Wee-Tuck Tan, chief executive of local brewer The Brewerkz Group, said they made about 5,000 liters, or about 15,000 cans, for each edition of NewBrew. He said they use the same process as other beers and the cost is also similar, about S$7 (about US$5) per can when purchased at the supermarket.

Wee-Tuck believes beer has changed the way some Singaporeans view NEWater.

“They think it tastes funny,” he noted. “When you put it in a beer, it changes the mentality. “Most don’t notice the difference.”

As water scarcity problems grow, acceptance of the use of treated wastewater is increasing, said Saroj Kumar Jha, director of the World Bank Group’s global water department, who participated in the panel on water management at the Singapore pavilion. .

After traveling to more than 50 countries in the last two years, he said leaders have frequently told him that it is important Do not use the term “wastewater” and instead say “used water.”

Once the panel concluded, Jha and the other panelists opened some NEWBrew and toasted.

“She’s very good,” Jha said. “It’s the fourth time I’ve tried it.” “This year,” he added, laughing. “Not today.”