Effectiveness of National Recycling Programme

4 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in each of the past three years (a) how much has been spent on the National Recycling Programme; and (b) how many tonnes of recyclables has the programme contributed to the total amount collected from Singapore's domestic recycling sector.

The Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources): Public waste collection (PWC) contracts cover both the collection of recyclables, under the National Recycling Programme (NRP), and the collection of waste. The public waste collectors charge a single fee for both waste and recycling collection, which is paid by households as the monthly refuse collection fee.

NRP was started in 2001 to provide households with a convenient channel to recycle. It is complemented by other available recycling channels provided by the private and people sectors, such as charity donation drives, community recycling drives and door-to-door collection of recyclables.

In 2016, the public waste collectors collected about 44,200 tonnes of recyclables. This was an increase from 2014 and 2015, when about 31,000 tonnes and 37,000 tonnes of recyclables were collected respectively.

My Ministry continues to look at how we can improve recycling rates in the domestic sector, where the recycling rate has been hovering around 20% since 2012. In recent years, we have been enhancing recycling infrastructure to make it even easier for Singaporeans to recycle. For example, from 1 April this year, all new non-landed private residential developments above four storeys will need to provide dual chutes for refuse and recyclables. These dual chutes have already been introduced in new Housing and Development Board Build-To-Order flats since January 2014. All existing condominiums will also have to provide one recycling bin per block from 1 August this year. We will also use regulatory measures to complement the new recycling infrastructure. For example, we will introduce a new framework to make it easier for Singaporeans to recycle their e-waste.

Ultimately, active participation in recycling by all Singaporeans will be key to improving our domestic recycling rates. The National Environment Agency (NEA) promotes the 3Rs, that is, "reduce, reuse and recycle", via social media posts and educational materials distributed at community and school events. Information on the proper use of recycling bins, location of collection points and 3R tips are also available on NEA’s website and NEA’s myENV mobile app. We will continue to encourage every Singaporean to play their part to reduce, reuse and recycle.

At the same time, Singaporeans should not misuse the recycling bins. A little less-known fact is that we can no longer use the recyclables once they are contaminated, such as by food waste. Let us all be gracious and not waste the efforts of our fellow Singaporeans who want to do their part for the environment.

Mr Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply, but I have also asked how much has been spent on NRP for each year in the last three years. Can I also clarify that the figure that the Senior Minister of State gave of 44,200 tonnes, is that the total amount collected from the Singapore domestic recycling sector or is that the figure that was collected by NRP?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: Regarding the question of how much we spent, we do not specifically track the amount spent on outreach programmes and campaigns for NRP because this is actually done in-house by NEA together with other outreach campaigns, such as the Clean and Green Singapore, Keep Singapore Clean and Do the Mozzie Wipeout campaigns.

In addition, NEA does outreach and educational efforts to engage and educate residents on the 3Rs, including NRP through, as I have said, social media posts, as well as on our websites and on our myENV mobile app.

Regarding the 44,200 tonnes collected in 2016, it is just the collection of recyclables under NRP carried out by the public waste collectors. This is about 10% of the total amount of recyclables we collect for the domestic sector.

Mr Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: I thank the Senior Minister of State. Just one last supplementary question. I know that NEA uses surveys to track the proportion of residents who recycle but I do not think it gives a very accurate picture. So, would NEA be conducting more in-depth reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of our recycling programme?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: The survey that the Member has referred to is, I think, the PWC Customer Satisfaction Survey. That was last done for the period 2015/2016. We had more than 8,500 respondents who participated in this customer satisfaction survey. It is done by a consultant using established survey methodologies, so, we think that this is reflective of the level of public participation in recycling. But we welcome any further suggestions to improve the accuracy of this survey.

11.15 am

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. Introduction of Government Bills.