Wood and Horticultural Waste Recycling

In Singapore, 269,600 tonnes of wood waste and 229,300 tonnes of horticultural waste was generated in 2008. The recycling rate is 71% for wood waste and 42% for horticultural waste.

Wood and horticultural waste are usually processed into wood chips for composting, cogeneration or used to make new wood products. Used wood pallets and crates can also be reconditioned.

Let’s take a closer look at wood and horticultural waste recycling:

Wood and Horticultural Waste Recycling in Singapore

Wood waste include pallets, crates, boxes, furniture and wood planks used in construction. Horticultural waste refers to tree trunks and branches, plant parts and trimmings generated during the maintenance and pruning of trees and plants all over Singapore.

Used wooden pallets and crates are usually sent to the recycling companies for repair and reconditioning. The pallets and crates are dismantled and the wood parts are cut to size and fixed back to form new pallets and crates.

Wood and horticultural waste are also sent to recycling companies to be grinded into wood chips. These wood chips can be used for composting, where they are piled together and turned frequently. After a few months, the wood chips would be broken down by microorganisms into mulch or compost.

This video shows a typical grinder for producing wood chips:

The wood chips are also used by some recycling companies to make new wood products. The wood chips are mixed with binders and pressed together to produce pallets, doors and floorings.

Some recycling companies use the wood chips as a fuel in cogeneration plants to produce heat and power simultaneously, whereas other companies process the wood chips and recycle them into charcoal products.

Collectors, Traders and Recycling Companies for Wood and Horticultural Waste

To find a recycling collector or someone who wants your wood waste, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

What Can I Do

If your company generates wood waste such as pallets and crates, you can find some way to reuse them. If they can’t be reused, consider sending them for recycling via Waste is not Waste.

If you have some wooden furniture that you don’t want, try to Give It Away or Sell for Cash before recycling them.

Electrical and Electronic Waste Recycling

Electrical and electronic items such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, handphones, computers, printers, and batteries are increasingly being disposed as waste after use. These waste are also known as e-waste and they are posing an environmental problem as most of these waste products contain toxic chemicals and can affect the environment and our health if they are incinerated or landfilled.

In addition, there is also the problem of e-waste being dumped in developing countries and recycled in an unhealthy and pollutive manner. Watch this video on the problem of e-waste:

In Singapore, there are no official figures on the amount of e-waste generated and recycled. But Singaporeans are known to be big users of electrical and electronic products, thus we can imagine the substantial problem of e-waste here.

Let’s take a closer look at e-waste recycling:

E-Waste Recycling in Singapore

Used electrical and electronic items are sold to the karang guni men, secondhand traders and shops, or traded-in when buying the new items. The used items are refurbished and sold locally or exported overseas for reuse.

The used electrical and electronic items, and electronic scrap from industries are also sent to local e-waste recycling facilities where precious metals such as gold and platinum are extracted, and recovered materials such as plastics are sent to local recycling companies.

Watch this video to learn about extracting gold and other metals from e-waste:

Collectors, Traders and Recycling Companies for E-Waste

To find a recycling collector or someone who wants your e-waste, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

What Can I Do

First, reduce your e-waste by asking yourself whether you need to buy new stuff like IT equipment and handphones frequently. Remember to Buy and Use Only What You Need.

If you have some electrical and electronic items that you don’t want but are still in good condition, try to Give It Away or Sell for Cash before recycling them.

You can also use the following e-waste recycling collection services:

1. Nokia collects old Nokia handphones, handphone batteries and accessories at any Nokia Care Center, and sends them for recycling. Watch this video on the Nokia recycling programme:

2. Motorola has an ECOMOTO Takeback programme to collect back old Motorola handphones, batteries, chargers and accessories at selected collection points.

3. The Dell Recycling programme provides collection of unwanted Dell computer equipment (computers, printers, scanners, etc) from homes, and collection of any computer equipment (all brands) from business customers.

4. The HP Planet Partners programme provides recycling collection of computer equipment (computers, servers, printers, fax machines, digital cameras, etc) from commercial customers. The programme also provides a cartridge recycling service for everyone to return empty HP print cartridges to the HP office or to recycling bins at retail stores.

5. Toshiba offers collection of used notebooks from end users and also offers consumers a drop-off for their used Notebook Batteries at any Toshiba Notebook Service Centers.

6. The Canon Cartridge Recycling Programme provides collection of Canon toner and ink cartridges at four Canon locations.

7. Brother has a cartridge recycling programme to collect Brother ink cartridges by mail through a free postage-paid Brother recycling envelope. You can also recycle used Brother ink, toner and drum cartridges by walk-in at selected locations. Brother also collects back their cartridges directly from corporate customers.

Tyres Recycling

In Singapore, 25,100 tonnes of scrap tyres was generated in 2008 and the recycling rate is 88%. Scrap tyres are usually rethreaded, exported overseas for reuse, or processed into crumbs for making surfaces and into chips for use as a solid fuel.

Let’s take a closer look at tyres recycling:

Tyres Recycling in Singapore

There are several recycling companies that collect scrap tyres and rethread the tyres for reuse. The thread section of the scrap tyre is replaced and the rethreaded tyre can be used again. Scrap tyres that are still in good condition are also exported overseas for reuse.

There’s a local recycling company that collects scrap tyres and process them into small pieces of chips and crumbs. The chips are exported overseas for use as a solid fuel while the crumbs can be used as material for making playground and tennis court surfaces.

Watch this video on a new method to turn tyres into powder:

Collectors, Traders and Recycling Companies for Tyres

To find a recycling collector or someone who wants your tyre waste, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

What Can I Do

Take care of your car tyres by checking the tyre pressure and ensuring that they are inflated at the correct pressure. Over-inflation or under-inflation of the tyres would cause uneven tyre thread wear and increase the need to change tyres frequently.

You can also reduce tyre wear by changing your driving habits – don’t brake too hard or take sharp corners. In addition, you can also conduct regular tyre rotation for your car to ensure even thread wear for all the tyres.

Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling

In Singapore, 922,000 tonnes of construction debris was generated in 2008 and the recycling rate is 98%. Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is usually sorted for the recovery of materials such as wood, metal, paper and plastics, and processed into aggregates for use in construction activities.

Let’s take a closer look at C&D waste recycling:

C&D Waste Recycling in Singapore

There are several recycling companies that collect and sort construction and demolition waste to recover useful materials from the waste such as ferrous metals, plastics, paper and wood. Sorting is done manually and by machines such as magnetic separators. The recovered materials are sent to local recycling companies for further processing. Some of the recovered wood can also be reused for construction activities.

The remaining waste after sorting contain materials such as concrete, bricks, gravel and stones, which are then crushed and screened to produce aggregates of different sizes for reuse in construction activities. These aggregates are also used to make recycled concrete products such as precast concrete blocks, drains and road kerbs.

Watch this video to see how C&D waste is crushed and processed in an overseas facility:

Recycling Companies for C&D Waste

To find a recycling collector or someone who wants your C&D waste and building materials, you can use our online business waste exchange, Waste is not Waste. We connect businesses and organisations that generate waste materials with those who want the materials, thus helping both parties save time and money while helping the environment.

Visit Waste is not Waste to learn more about us, the benefits and how it works. Remember that waste is not waste, but potential resources to be used again.

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