Waste minimisation and recycling are key components of Singapore’s integrated waste management.  In land-scarce Singapore, there are both economic and environmental imperatives to reduce waste.  NEA has thus incorporated the 3Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle in its strategies for environmental sustainability.

As a first step, a disposal fee is charged for waste disposed of at the incineration plants or landfill.  Singapore has four waste-to-energy incineration plants and an offshore sanitary landfill.  The disposal fee charged is based on full cost recovery to encourage waste minimisation and recycling.   Waste that are not segregated and recovered for recycling, are disposed of at the waste-to-energy incineration plants or at the offshore landfill if the waste is non-incinerable.   At the waste-to-energy incineration plants, heat is recovered to generate electricity, while ferrous metals are recovered for recycling.

Business

Waste Statistics and Overall Recycling Rate

Singapore’s overall waste recycling rate and the detailed statistics by types of waste streams can be found here.

Waste Minimisation and Recycling Programmes

Recycling programmes have been introduced to promote waste minimisation and recycling in the homes, condominiums, private apartment estates, schools, industrial estates, offices, hotels, etc.  Click here to find out more about these programmes and get tips on how to start a recycling programme in your office or work place.

NEA, together with JTC Corporation, Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation, the Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore, and representatives of several companies, has produced a “Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries”. The guidebook provides an introduction to waste minimisation, as well as a series of case studies on the benefits of undertaking a waste minimisation programme.

For a list of companies that collect recyclable materials, click here.

Click here for a list of companies dealing in more specialised recyclables such as electronics waste, horticultural waste and food waste.

Singapore Packaging Agreement

The Singapore Packaging Agreement is a joint initiative by the NEA, industry groups and individual companies in Singapore to reduce packaging waste. The programme, which came into effect on July 1, 2007, will run for five years, with an initial focus on food and beverage (F&B) packaging, as this is the most common type of packaging waste in households. The agreement covers the entire supply chain, including manufacturers and suppliers of packaging, manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers of packaged consumers products.

More information on the Singapore Packaging Agreement can be found here.

Bring Your Own Bag Day

The Bring Your Own Bag Day (BYOBD) campaign encourages shoppers to bring their own shopping bags and reduce excessive use of plastic bags. BYOBD is led by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), supported by the NEA and has the participation of the major supermarkets and other retailers. From 4 June 2008, every Wednesday is a BYOBD.

For more information on BYOBD, click here. 

Retailers or other businesses interested in participating in the BYOBD campaign can contact the SEC at http://www.sec.org.sg/.
 
Tips for the 3Rs

A list of tips on the 3Rs can be found here.

Public

Waste Statistics and Recycling Rate

Singapore’s overall waste recycling rate and the detailed statistics by types of waste streams can be found here. 

Waste Minimisation and Recycling Programmes

Recycling programmes have been introduced to promote waste minimisation and recycling in the homes, condominiums, private apartment estates, schools, industrial estates, offices, hotels, etc. Click here to find out more about these programmes and get tips on how to start a recycling programme in your office or work place.

National Recycling Programme

Door-to-door Collection

The National Recycling Programme (NRP) was launched in April 2001. In this programme, the Public Waste Collectors (PWCs) licensed by NEA, provide door-to-door collection of recyclable material in both HDB estates and landed properties within their assigned sectors.

Residents are given recycling bags or bins to store waste paper, plastic and glass bottles, old clothing, metal cans, drink cartons etc. The PWCs collect the recyclables from the doorsteps fortnightly on a scheduled day.

Click here to download the NRP brochure, which provides additional information on how to participate in the NRP.

Centralised Recycling Depositories

To make it more convenient for the residents to recycle waste, NEA has arranged for the PWCs to provide centralised recycling depositories at convenient locations in consultations with the Town Councils, in HDB estates to complement the fortnightly door-to-door collection of recyclables.  There are more than 1,600 sets of recycling depositories in HDB  housing estates.

To locate the centralised recycling depositories in your neighbourhood, please contact NEA Call Centre at 1800-2255 632 or email at Contact_NEA@nea.gov.sg.

For other collection centres such as printing cartridges, computers, printing equipment, handphones, batteries, accessories, unwanted and reusable items, please click here.

Recycling Education Programs for Schools

Through its 3P partnership, NEA provides support for educational programmes and campaigns targeted at improving Singaporeans’ knowledge of recycling and waste minimisation. For downloadable educational materials, click here.  For additional information, please contact the NEA Call Centre at 1800-CALL-NEA (1800-2255 632).
 
Bring Your Own Bag Day

The Bring Your Own Bag Day (BYOBD) campaign encourages shoppers to bring their own shopping bags, or avoid taking plastic bags when they are not needed, so as to reduce wastage of plastic bags. BYOBD is led by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), supported by the NEA and has the participation of the major supermarkets and other retailers.  From 4 June 2008, every Wednesday is a BYOBD.

For more information on BYOBD, click here. 

Tips for the 3Rs

A list of tips on the 3Rs can be found here.