Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Waste Stats and review of Zero Waste Masterplan

Questions:

Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) out of the 3.35 million tonnes of waste disposed of in 2025 (i) what is the estimated proportion that is recyclable and (ii) what is the proportion of industrial versus domestic waste; and (b) of the 52% recycling rate, what are the main categories of recycled waste and their corresponding proportions.

Ms Valerie Lee: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry has an ideal yearly national recycling rate target for 2026 to 2030; (b) what lessons have been learnt from how Singapore's waste and recycling profile has changed over the past decade; and (c) what updated measures are being considered to improve recycling rates for (i) glass (ii) paper and cardboard and (iii) textiles.

Ms Lee Hui Ying: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Zero Waste Master Plan review will focus on reducing overall waste produced or circular economy outcomes rather than recycling rates, in view of the high contamination rates for recycling; and (b) whether the Ministry plans to implement nationwide clean-stream recycling bins that segregate recyclables and minimise cross-contamination at the source.

Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry tracks data on the overall recycling rate by region and globally; (b) if so, whether the Ministry has observed a declining trend in the overall recycling rate regionally and globally; and (c) how does Singapore’s overall recycling rate compare with other countries.

Mr Ng Shi Xuan: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment for the current number and proportion of Town Councils that have partnered with public waste collectors and implemented dedicated collection channels for paper and cardboard in their respective towns.

Answer:

2025 Waste and Recycling Landscape

Singapore disposed of 3.36 million tonnes of waste in 2025, with 1.67 million tonnes from domestic sources, and 1.69 million tonnes from non-domestic sources. A breakdown by the type of the amounts of waste generated, disposed of and recycled, can be found on NEA’s website. 

Technological solutions are available to recycle most waste streams if properly separated and treated. However, even if recycling is technically possible, it may not always be practical or economical to do so.

There are several economic, logistical and behavioural factors determining our recycling rates.

Structural Challenges

First, the business case for recycling has deteriorated due to rising logistics, freight, power, and energy costs across the wider landscape. These rising costs make it less viable for recyclers to operate a sustainable business around collecting and recycling of material.

Second, export markets for recyclables have become increasingly stringent in their requirements. Singapore exports most of its recyclables for further processing. Tightening export requirements by receiving countries could limit the quantity our local recyclers can sell.

Third, contamination of recyclables remains a persistent challenge, limiting the volume of recyclables that can be recovered and processed. These three challenges make the situation complex and contribute to the lower recycling rates we have seen in recent years.

Definitions of recycling rates vary internationally, with no consensus on the definitions. Some countries report recycling rates across different waste streams, and others use a broader definition of what counts as recycled, such as including energy recovery or repurposing of waste residues within their national recycling rate, which we do not. Comparing recycling rates across countries is therefore not always meaningful if the bases are different.

ZWMP Review

However, we believe that we can and must do more to strengthen resource circularity in Singapore. This is why I had earlier announced that MSE and NEA will be reviewing the 2019 Zero Waste Masterplan to strengthen our approach to waste management.

Under the 2019 Masterplan, we had set a target of 70% recycling rate by 2030, and to reduce the waste sent to landfill per capita per day by 30% by 2030. While we are striving to achieve these targets, we will review them for relevance given the changing waste and recycling landscape.

For the targets to be meaningful, we will address the challenges associated with recycling of both domestic and non-domestic waste. We are studying how we can increase the yield of clean, segregated recyclables that are easier for recyclers to meet regulatory requirements. We will engage waste generators to explore better ways to segregate waste upstream in the processes.

Recycling Infrastructure

For households, the blue bin network under the National Recycling Programme (NRP) remains the primary channel for recycling.

Today, blue bins are managed by our Public Waste Collectors (PWCs), who are required to provide one blue bin per HDB block and clear recyclables up to three times a week. To address higher recycling demand and overflowing bins in certain areas, PWCs have deployed additional bins at around 700 locations and increased collection frequency at more than 1,100 locations. NEA and Town Councils (TCs) also conduct joint site inspections to address estate-specific issues such as bin placement and damaged bins, with straightforward issues typically resolved within two days.

To improve the quality and yield of paper and cardboard, NEA has also worked with all PWCs to offer dedicated collection of paper and cardboard in their respective Zones since December 2025. Efforts introduced by the PWCs include implementing smart recycling bins, door-to-door collection services, Cash-for-Trash events, or partnering TCs to set up metal cages or points for bulk collection. 5 TCs have come forward to partner the PWCs in dedicated collection, and we have seen encouraging results in collecting paper and cardboard with lower contamination rates. We encourage all TCs and community stakeholders to reach out and partner their PWCs.

We have also introduced source-segregated recycling at the national level, such as via the Return Right - Beverage Container Return Scheme. By nudging consumers to make a small change in their lifestyle, we hope to increase recycling of beverage containers, and spark a change in our recycling habits.

Moving forward, we will explore more ways to enhance the NRP to reduce contamination and improve the volume of clean recyclables recovered from households, building on ground-up recycling initiatives. This could include the use of source-segregated bins.

Recycling is important, but we must also reinforce the other 2 Rs – Reducing waste at the outset and Reusing where possible. We have seen some encouraging progress on this front. Domestic waste generated per capita has fallen by 21 per cent over the past decade, and non-domestic waste generated per unit GDP has dropped by more than 30 per cent over the same period. We will explore how we can better support efforts to shape consumption patterns, and the growth of more sustainable business models.

Another strategy that we are embarking on is strengthening the reuse of waste residue and treated toxic industrial waste before and after they are landfilled. The recently launched Towards Resource Efficiency And Sustainability for URban EnvironmentS (TREASURES) Centre will focus on building the technologies and risk assessment frameworks for this purpose. It will work with industry partners to reduce the risk and uncertainty of commercial use of waste residue, and allowing us to close our resource loops.

I thank Members for their interest in the Zero Waste Masterplan review, and for their questions on how we can better strengthen recycling and resource circularity in Singapore. Work on this is still ongoing. We will engage the public and industry as part of the review process, and share more details in due course.