Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Exported Recyclables

Question:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong. To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what proportion of recyclables from the blue recycling bins have been exported in 2025; (b) which are the primary destination countries; and (c) what 18 robust verification measures are in place to ensure that such exported recyclables are legitimately recycled and not subjected to overseas dumping or rejection by host countries.

Answer:

Metal, paper, glass and plastics make up the majority of the recyclables collected from blue recycling bins. Over the past years, we estimate that about 90% of these recyclables from the blue bins have been exported, mainly to other Asian countries.

In line with our obligations under the Basel Convention, Singapore has put in place controls which ensure that the export of hazardous wastes and certain controlled non-hazardous recyclables, such as mixed plastic waste, can only take place with consent from the importing country, which confirms that the importing country is able to manage the waste in an environmentally sound manner. For the export of recyclables that are not covered by the Basel Convention, such as sorted streams of metals, paper and glass, companies would have to adhere to the relevant domestic regulations of the importing country.