Safeguards to Ensure Recycling Companies Adhere to Proper Recycling Protocols and Procedures
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Darryl David’s inquiry regarding safeguards ensuring that contracted recycling companies follow proper protocols when removing and treating recyclable waste. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M stated that collectors are contractually required to use dedicated, marked trucks to transport recyclables specifically to Materials Recovery Facilities. The National Environment Agency utilizes GPS and RFID technology to monitor these vehicles and strictly prohibits them from entering incineration plants designated for general refuse. Financial penalties are also imposed on collectors who fail to meet service standards, such as following collection schedules or utilizing correct dedicated vehicles. These measures ensure that recyclables from the National Recycling Programme are properly managed and processed separately from general waste disposal.
Transcript
32 Mr Darryl David asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what safeguards does NEA have to ensure that recycling companies contracted to remove and treat recyclable waste actually adhere to the proper recycling protocols and procedures.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Under the National Recycling Programme (NRP), public waste collectors (PWCs) are required to provide a blue co-mingled recycling bin at every Housing and Development Board (HDB) block and landed residential property.
The PWCs are contractually required by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to ensure that the recyclables in the blue bins are properly collected and sent for recycling. These requirements include the use of dedicated trucks to collect recyclables, separately from general waste, and marking these trucks accordingly.
NEA monitors the recycling trucks to ensure that collected recyclables are sent to Materials Recovery Facilities, which sort the co-mingled recyclables for further processing. Each truck is equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS), and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is used to record collection from individual bins. As a further safeguard, these recycling trucks are prohibited from entering the incineration plants, where general refuse is disposed of.
NEA imposes financial penalties on the PWCs if they fail to meet contractual requirements, including failing to collect recyclables according to schedule and failing to collect recyclables using a separate dedicated vehicle.