SINGAPORE: Singapore’s waste generation rate fell in 2024, with per capita daily domestic waste decreasing by more than 20 per cent over the past decade, according to the latest statistics released by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The national recycling rate dropped to its lowest level in a decade at 50 per cent, mainly due to less waste generated in the construction and demolition sector.
On average, each person generated around 0.85kg of domestic waste daily, down from 0.88kg in 2023. Domestic waste is collected from households and trade premises such as shophouses, educational institutions and hawker centres.
Daily non-domestic waste generated per billion dollar gross domestic product also fell from around 25 tonnes in 2023 to around 23 tonnes in 2024. Non-domestic waste is produced at industrial and commercial premises.
The latest figures continue a downward trend in waste generation over the past decade, with per capita daily domestic waste decreasing by more than 20 per cent and non-domestic waste per billion dollars GDP falling by over 30 per cent.
At the opening of food waste processing facility Mottainai Food Tech on Wednesday (Jul 23), Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said the numbers were “commendable”.
“They suggest that Singaporeans, Singaporean businesses alike are making more deliberate choices to embrace environmentally sustainable practices in their daily lives, through the cumulative impact of reducing, reusing and recycling,” he said.
Recycling rates were the lowest in 10 years at 50 per cent. In 2014, the recycling rate was 60 per cent.
NEA attributed the drop largely to reductions in construction and demolition waste and used slag, with the amounts falling by 44 per cent and 69 per cent respectively.
As construction and demolition waste and used slag are almost fully recycled, the decrease in volume generated and consequently recycled led to a significant reduction in the overall recycling rate, said the agency.
There was less construction and demolition waste generated from demolition projects in recent years. Similarly, there were fewer steel smelting activities, leading to less used slag being produced.
The agency also reported a 49,000-tonne drop in the amount of wood waste recycled, driven by the closure of one biomass plant and extended maintenance at another. This reduced Singapore’s short-term wood waste processing capacity.
Another major contributor was the sharp fall in paper recycling - from 52 per cent to 32 per cent over the past ten years. The decline is driven by factors such as the cost of collecting and freight, as well as commodity prices, NEA said.
Singapore aims to increase its overall recycling rate to 70 per cent by 2030, in line with the country’s Zero Waste Masterplan.
To support this goal, NEA is stepping up efforts in three key waste streams - food, paper and plastics, as these categories make up the largest share of waste that is not being recycled.
Food waste recycling rates have climbed from 13 per cent in 2014 to 18 per cent in 2024. Since March 2024, new large commercial and industrial food waste generators have been required to segregate, treat and report their food waste. These rules will extend to existing players after the Integrated Waste Management Facility is completed from 2027.
In March this year, NEA supported the development of guidelines for sustainable e-commerce packaging to reduce waste and promote paper recycling.
There are currently about 80 licensed general waste disposal facilities handling paper/cardboard waste locally. For Singapore’s paper to be recycled, it has to be baled and exported overseas, as there are no local paper pulping facilities, said the agency.
For plastic recycling, NEA will roll out a beverage container return scheme next April. Consumers who return empty beverage containers will receive a 10-cent deposit refund.
NEA acknowledged that contamination in communal recycling bins remains a challenge. While a fully segregated waste collection system is not currently viable due to costs, the agency is introducing targeted single-stream efforts like the container return scheme.
Given Singapore's limited space, we need to very effectively manage the waste we generate, by reducing and reusing to minimise waste, and recycling to turn the waste back into a resource, said Dr Puthucheary. "We need to do all this so that we can extend the life of our only landfill, Semakau Landfill, which is projected to be full by 2035."
He added that individuals should continue to do their part by carrying out “simple actions”, such as being careful about the amount of food they buy and cook, avoiding single-use disposables and “treating our blue bins well” by recycling properly, he said.
“We should also continue to innovate and find new ways to turn trash into treasure,” he said.
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The national recycling rate dropped to its lowest level in a decade at 50 per cent, mainly due to less waste generated in the construction and demolition sector.
On average, each person generated around 0.85kg of domestic waste daily, down from 0.88kg in 2023. Domestic waste is collected from households and trade premises such as shophouses, educational institutions and hawker centres.
Daily non-domestic waste generated per billion dollar gross domestic product also fell from around 25 tonnes in 2023 to around 23 tonnes in 2024. Non-domestic waste is produced at industrial and commercial premises.
The latest figures continue a downward trend in waste generation over the past decade, with per capita daily domestic waste decreasing by more than 20 per cent and non-domestic waste per billion dollars GDP falling by over 30 per cent.
At the opening of food waste processing facility Mottainai Food Tech on Wednesday (Jul 23), Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said the numbers were “commendable”.
“They suggest that Singaporeans, Singaporean businesses alike are making more deliberate choices to embrace environmentally sustainable practices in their daily lives, through the cumulative impact of reducing, reusing and recycling,” he said.
RECYCLING RATE AT 10-YEAR LOW
Recycling rates were the lowest in 10 years at 50 per cent. In 2014, the recycling rate was 60 per cent.
NEA attributed the drop largely to reductions in construction and demolition waste and used slag, with the amounts falling by 44 per cent and 69 per cent respectively.
As construction and demolition waste and used slag are almost fully recycled, the decrease in volume generated and consequently recycled led to a significant reduction in the overall recycling rate, said the agency.
There was less construction and demolition waste generated from demolition projects in recent years. Similarly, there were fewer steel smelting activities, leading to less used slag being produced.
The agency also reported a 49,000-tonne drop in the amount of wood waste recycled, driven by the closure of one biomass plant and extended maintenance at another. This reduced Singapore’s short-term wood waste processing capacity.
Another major contributor was the sharp fall in paper recycling - from 52 per cent to 32 per cent over the past ten years. The decline is driven by factors such as the cost of collecting and freight, as well as commodity prices, NEA said.
FOCUS ON FOOD, PAPER AND PLASTIC
Singapore aims to increase its overall recycling rate to 70 per cent by 2030, in line with the country’s Zero Waste Masterplan.
To support this goal, NEA is stepping up efforts in three key waste streams - food, paper and plastics, as these categories make up the largest share of waste that is not being recycled.
Food waste recycling rates have climbed from 13 per cent in 2014 to 18 per cent in 2024. Since March 2024, new large commercial and industrial food waste generators have been required to segregate, treat and report their food waste. These rules will extend to existing players after the Integrated Waste Management Facility is completed from 2027.
In March this year, NEA supported the development of guidelines for sustainable e-commerce packaging to reduce waste and promote paper recycling.
There are currently about 80 licensed general waste disposal facilities handling paper/cardboard waste locally. For Singapore’s paper to be recycled, it has to be baled and exported overseas, as there are no local paper pulping facilities, said the agency.
For plastic recycling, NEA will roll out a beverage container return scheme next April. Consumers who return empty beverage containers will receive a 10-cent deposit refund.
NEA acknowledged that contamination in communal recycling bins remains a challenge. While a fully segregated waste collection system is not currently viable due to costs, the agency is introducing targeted single-stream efforts like the container return scheme.
Given Singapore's limited space, we need to very effectively manage the waste we generate, by reducing and reusing to minimise waste, and recycling to turn the waste back into a resource, said Dr Puthucheary. "We need to do all this so that we can extend the life of our only landfill, Semakau Landfill, which is projected to be full by 2035."
He added that individuals should continue to do their part by carrying out “simple actions”, such as being careful about the amount of food they buy and cook, avoiding single-use disposables and “treating our blue bins well” by recycling properly, he said.
“We should also continue to innovate and find new ways to turn trash into treasure,” he said.
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