Piloting Non-commingled and Separate System for Recycling Different Types of Recycled Items to Reduce Contamination
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns MP Mr Yip Hon Weng’s inquiry on piloting non-commingled recycling systems and educating residents to reduce contamination. Minister Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien highlighted pilots of transparent bins with separate compartments and the development of a beverage container return scheme under Extended Producer Responsibility. She detailed educational initiatives like the Recycle Right campaign, refreshed bin labels, and the Bloobin mascot to promote correct recycling practices. The Ministry also partners with schools to integrate sustainability education and engages youth through programs like the "Ready, Set, Recycle!" challenge. These efforts aim to foster cleaner recycling streams and help residents identify recyclable items through an online search portal.
Transcript
23 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider (i) piloting a non-commingled and separate system for recycling different types of recycled items with an aim to reduce the contamination of recyclables and (ii) educating residents on the appropriate recycling bins for various types of items.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have carried out two concurrent pilots on the use of transparent recycling bins at Hong Kah North SMC and East Coast GRC. One of the pilots involved the use of separate compartments for glass, paper, metal, and plastic recyclables. These pilots arose from the #RecycleRight Citizens’ Workgroup, where participants had suggested the idea of transparent recycling bins to serve as a deterrence against contamination and encourage the right recycling behaviour, including the use of tailored deposit holes for different types of recyclables. Findings from the pilots will be released when ready.
We are also developing a beverage container return scheme, which was another proposal from the Citizens' Workgroup. This is a form of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where producers are responsible for the end-of-life treatment of the products they supply to the market. Under such a scheme, a refundable deposit is included in the price of the pre-packaged beverages. This encourages consumers to return empty beverage containers to designated return points, which will aggregate a clean stream of recyclables that can be more easily recycled.
Improving household recycling requires everyone to play their part. NEA launched the Recycle Right campaign in 2019 to help Singaporeans understand how to recycle correctly. Refreshed recycling labels were placed on all blue recycling bins and recycling chutes to help residents identify recyclable items. In January 2022, NEA launched another round of the Recycle Right campaign and introduced a recycling mascot, Bloobin. Educational and user-friendly content have been developed to encourage the public to cultivate good recycling practices. This includes a portal with a search engine to help residents identify what can be recycled (www.go.gov.sg/recycleright).
In addition to encouraging recycling in neighbourhoods, NEA has been partnering the Ministry of Education to integrate sustainability education in schools. NEA also engages schools directly through the Environmental Education Advisers to organise campus-wide initiatives, such as recycling programmes and the appointment of recycling ambassadors. An inter-Institute of Higher Learning challenge, "Ready, Set, Recycle!" was recently organised under the Recycle Right campaign to mobilise youths to recycle.