Upgrading Rubbish Trucks into Newer and Quieter Electric Vehicles
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Christopher de Souza’s inquiry regarding the upgrading of rubbish trucks to newer, quieter electric vehicles (EVs) through collaboration with waste management companies. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu Hai Yien responded that the National Environment Agency (NEA) incentivizes EV adoption by awarding higher tender scores and requiring new contracts to include at least 11 refuse and three recycling EVs. This phased approach ensures EVs constitute approximately one-third of new fleets, allowing collectors to gain operational expertise in charging logistics while mitigating costs and service disruptions. Minister Grace Fu Hai Yien noted that companies such as 800 Super, ALBA W&H, and SembWaste have already voluntarily introduced EVs into their collection fleets ahead of contractual mandates. The Ministry will continue to work with these providers to refine requirements and promote sustainable solutions within the waste collection industry.
Transcript
24 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider working with companies to upgrade rubbish trucks into newer and quieter electric vehicles.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: As part of the National Environment Agency's (NEA) efforts to transform the waste management industry to be more sustainable, NEA encourages Public Waste Collectors (PWCs) to use electric vehicles (EVs) in their waste collection fleets. Since 2019, higher scores are awarded to tenderers proposing EVs for their waste collection vehicles. NEA has also introduced a new requirement in contracts called since June 2020 for PWCs to deploy at least 11 EVs for refuse collection and three EVs for collection of recyclables. With this requirement, EVs will make up about a third of the fleet in the new contracts.
As the use of EVs is still relatively nascent in Singapore, NEA has adopted a phased approach to electrify our refuse and recyclables collection fleet. This allows PWCs to acquire expertise in EV fleet management over time, including operational considerations such as designing truck routes to factor in charging locations and time. Such a calibrated approach will also mitigate potential inconveniences to waste collection services and manage costs. NEA will refine the requirements over time.
We are heartened that all PWCs have taken the lead to voluntarily introduce EVs into their collection fleet ahead of the contract requirement. For example, 800 Super has three EVs operating in the Pasir Ris-Bedok sector, while ALBA W&H and SembWaste plan to bring in three EVs and 10 EVs for the Jurong and Clementi-Bukit Merah sectors respectively. We will continue to work with the PWCs to adopt sustainable solutions for the waste collection industry.