Collection Rate of Bloobox for Recycling Campaign

2 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are the typical reasons given by households for not collecting the Bloobox; (b) what is the feedback given by households that have collected the Bloobox regarding its usefulness for their recycling efforts; (c) what are the measurable targets that NEA has set to determine the success of the Bloobox initiative; and (d) what will the Ministry do with uncollected boxes after the deadline for collection on 30 April 2023 has lapsed.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (Mr Baey Yam Keng) (for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment): Mdm Deputy Speaker, may I have your permission to address Question No 2 and Question No 16 for written reply in today's Order Paper in a combined reply?

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Please proceed.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Thank you. I will also respond to Question No 27 for written reply raised by Mr Melvin Yong and Question No 28 for written reply raised by Dr Wan Rizal from the Order Paper on 8 May 2023.

The Bloobox initiative was launched in November 2022 as part of our national Recycle Right campaign. Blooboxes carry labels to help households identify what can and cannot be recycled. By facilitating and encouraging households to set up a recycling corner, we hope to encourage recycling and raise the recycling rate. By the end of the distribution period on 30 April 2023, about 530,000 or 93% of the Blooboxes have been distributed.

To facilitate the distribution of Blooboxes, vending machines were placed across Singapore, including at community clubs and bus interchanges. Distribution booths were also set up at community events, shopping malls and hawker centres. These distribution efforts were publicised through flyers, posters and digital notifications via the Singpass mobile application. Blooboxes were also distributed to interested primary and secondary schools to encourage students to recycle in school and at home.

The strong and positive response by the public reflects the community's interest in recycling at home or offices, and their appreciation of the utility of the Blooboxes. Nevertheless, not every household requires a Bloobox as many may already have existing recycling corners using other containers, and this was taken into consideration when we planned for the number of Blooboxes to be distributed in this initiative.

Following the end of the Bloobox distribution period, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will continue to collaborate with our various partners to encourage households to recycle as part of the Recycle Right campaign. The remaining Blooboxes will be used to support this campaign.

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Mr Yip Hon Weng.

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker. I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. Do areas where there is a higher percentage of Blooboxes collected, have a higher recyclables collection rate? On a related note, for these areas, is there a higher percentage of recyclables that can actually be recycled that are not contaminants?

Finally, as the deadline for collection is now over, for residents who have not collected the Bloobox but wish to have one, how do they go about getting one?

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Madam, our recyclables collection data is done on the annual basis. I would need to check whether we have micro data at the level of the estates or neighbourhoods, according to what the Member has asked for, based on the rate of the Bloobox collection.

The effort to promote recycling as well as recycling right is one that is ongoing and long term. So, this is one of the many initiatives that NEA has done and will be doing over time. We thank the Member for his interest and to get his residents to do more recycling.

As for the Blooboxes, if there are members of the public who would like to have access to Blooboxes after the deadline, do look out for the various recycling initiatives by NEA and our partners, as that is where members of the public can have access to the Blooboxes. If the Member is interested to promote recycling as a community, NEA would be happy to work with him to do so.

Mdm Deputy Speaker: Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Just a quick follow-up to the Member Yip Hon Weng's question. I am wondering if you would be willing to share the total cost of the Bloobox programme and, after you have finally collected the data on recycling, whether there is a certain threshold percentage for which we would regard this programme as cost effective.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: I do not have the cost of the Bloobox campaign. As I mentioned in my reply, we had estimated the number of Blooboxes required. We did not produce or procure Blooboxes to cover all households in Singapore because that would not be realistic and we know that not every household would require it. We were quite close to our estimate – 93% of the Blooboxes were collected. The remaining will not be put to waste because they will be used in our efforts to promote recycling.

Most importantly, with 93% collected, there are these households who have interest in the Bloobox and we hope that they would put the Blooboxes to good use. We will continue our efforts to promote recycling in the community.