Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Recycling Bins by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, to Parliamentary Question on Recycling Bins

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether NEA can deploy at HDB estates recycling bins with bin capacity sensors and develop an app showing the locations and availability of recycling bins which are not full to deal with the problem of residents wanting to discard materials for recycling but finding the bins full instead.

Answer:

1 The National Environment Agency (NEA) will be conducting trials to improve the collection of recyclables. Under the new Public Waste Collector (PWC) contract for the Ang Mo Kio-Toa Payoh sector starting in October 2021, sensors will be installed in recycling bins within the HDB estates in this sector. This will allow live monitoring of bin levels to facilitate more responsive collection and reduce bin overflow incidents. NEA will monitor the effectiveness of these recycling bin sensors, and consider extending such sensors to the recycling bins in other PWC sectors, while also considering the potential impact on refuse collection fees.

2 The locations of recycling bins in HDB estates are available on the OneMap website and OneMap mobile application. NEA requires PWCs to clear the bins on scheduled collection days and adhere to a minimum collection frequency. Should residents find their nearest recycling bin full, they can look for another recycling bin in the vicinity, and provide feedback through the NEA website, or via the myENV or OneService mobile applications.

3 We urge members of the public to follow the instructions on the labels of recycling bins to deposit only recyclable items. Non-recyclable items such as styrofoam boxes, and bulky items or reusables like clothes, toys and shoes, not only contaminate the recyclables, but also fill up the bins quickly and could lead to overflowing bins. Large carton boxes should also be flattened before being deposited into the bins.