Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Estimated Additional Cost for Contaminated Recycleables from Blue Bins

Question:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong. To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the estimated additional cost per tonne incurred by the Government and Public Waste Collectors to transport, sort, and subsequently incinerate contaminated recyclables from blue bins; and (b) for the tracking contamination rates, whether the Ministry will transit from aggregated national-level data to estate-level data for more targeted, community-specific interventions and accountability.

Answer:

The National Environment Agency (NEA) appoints Public Waste Collectors (PWCs) through open tenders to provide refuse and recyclables collection services for domestic and trade premises. The Government does not incur additional cost for the collection and incineration of contaminated recyclables from blue bins as such costs are included in the overall fees paid to the PWC.

However, PWCs do incur additional costs to segregate the recyclables and channel the contaminated recyclables for incineration. These costs will vary depending on each PWC’s specific sorting processes and operational efficiency. Contaminated recyclables also contribute to additional demand on our waste management infrastructure and lost potential revenue from recycling.

Currently, sampling for contamination of recyclables is done at the Materials Recovery Facilities on an aggregated basis. NEA will continue to explore ways to strengthen our data collection to provide more targeted, community-specific interventions. We urge all residents to be mindful of depositing only recyclables in our blue bins to make a positive contribution to our sustainability effort.