Waste Management in Singapore
The public waste collection in Singapore is divided into 6 sectors managed by four licensed Public Waste Collectors (PWCs) as shown below.
Image credit: www.nea.gov.sg
The PWCs are responsible for the collection of waste from residential and trade premises in Singapore. They are also required to provide recycling services under the National Recycling Programme (NRP). For commercial and industrial premises, waste is collected separately by licensed general waste collectors.
For more information on waste collection system, refer to NEA link here.
Waste Disposal
The waste collected by the PWCs and general waste collectors are disposed of at the four waste-to-energy plants (Tuas, Tuas South, Senoko, and Keppel Seghers Tuas Waste-To-Energy Plant) and the offshore Semakau Landfill. Waste that are incinerable are sent to the incineration plants while non-incinerable waste and incineration ashes are sent to the landfill.
The upcoming Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) will be Singapore's first integrated facility to integrate the treatment of incinerable waste, source-segregated food waste and dewatered sludge. The state-of-the-art solid waste treatment facility targets to help Singapore achieve long-term environmental sustainability goal by improving resource and energy recovery from waste, and reduce environmental footprint.
The IWMF will be constructed in phases and the first phase is targeted for completion by 2024.
For information on Singapore’s IWMF, refer to the NEA website here.
Waste Recycling
Waste that are not disposed of are sent for recycling. In 2022, about 7.39 million tonnes of solid waste were generated, of which 4.19 million tonnes were recycled. Waste generated by the non-domestic and domestic sectors both increased compared to 2021. Non-domestic recycling rate increased by 2 per cent to 72 per cent, while the domestic recycling rate decreased by 1 per cent to 12 per cent (NEA). The quantity and recycling rate for each type of waste are shown here:
Image credit: NEA