18% increase in waste generated in Singapore last year as ...

Of this, 3.83 million tonnes of waste were recycled last year, translating into an overall recycling rate of 55 per cent - up from 52 per cent ... Skiptomaincontent Close Close TopStories Singapore Asia World Commentary Sustainability Business Sport COVID-19 LatestNews Discover CNAInsider Watch LiveTV NewsReports Documentaries&Shows TVSchedule Listen CNA938Live Podcasts RadioSchedule SpecialReports SingaporeParliament Interactives Lifestyle Entertainment Women Wellness Living Style&Beauty Dining Travel Luxury Experiences Obsessions People RemarkableLiving CNAEyewitness Sendusanewstip BrandedContent BusinessBlueprint HealthMatters TheAsianTraveller Weather Edition: Singapore Asia Search TrendingTopics Ukraineinvasion Omicron COVID-19 Shanghai Beijing Malaysia monkeypox SriLanka Wellness climatechange FollowCNA Followournews Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn RSS RecentSearches TrendingTopics Ukraineinvasion Omicron COVID-19 Shanghai Beijing Malaysia monkeypox SriLanka Wellness climatechange Advertisement Advertisement Singapore 18%increaseinwastegeneratedinSingaporelastyearaseconomicactivitypickedup About40%ofthecontentsfoundinthebluerecyclingbinscannotberecycledduetocontamination.(Photo:CNA/AqilHaziqMahmud) YasminBegum YasminBegum 18Apr202201:23PM (Updated:18Apr202201:42PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn SINGAPORE:Singapore'soverallwastegenerationroseby18percentlastyear-thefirstincreaseafterfouryearsofdecline-aseconomicactivitypickedupafterthelooseningofCOVID-19restrictions. Inall,about6.94milliontonnesofsolidwasteweregeneratedlastyear,comparedwiththe5.88milliontonnesin2020,saidtheNationalEnvironmentAgency(NEA)initsannualwasteandrecyclingreportonMonday(Apr18).  Thedomesticsectorgenerated1.82milliontonnesofwaste,upfrom1.77tonnesin2020,whilethenon-domesticsectorgenerated5.12milliontonnes,anincreasefrom4.12milliontonnesduringthesameperiod. Ofthis,3.83milliontonnesofwastewererecycledlastyear,translatingintoanoverallrecyclingrateof55percent- upfrom52percentinthepreviousyear. About3.12milliontonnesofsolidwastewasdisposedof,anincreaseof10percentfrom2020. "2020wasananomalousyearwithlowerwastegenerationandrecyclingratesduetotheimpactofCOVID-19,particularlyduringthecircuitbreakerperiod(ApriltoMay2020)whenactivitieswerecurtailed,"saidNEA. HOUSEHOLDRECYCLING Morewastewasgeneratedbythedomesticsector, whichincludeshouseholdsandtradepremisessuchashawkercentresandschools,asthework-from-hometrendcontinuedinto2021,saidNEA.  Atthesametime,however,thedomesticrecyclingrateremainedunchangedat13percent. NEAsaiditwillcontinuetoencouragehouseholdstorecyclemoreandrecycleright,andhasalsodevelopededucationalcontenttoguidethepubliconitemsthatcanandcannotberecycled. Currently,about40percentofthecontentsfoundinthebluerecyclingbinscannotberecycledduetocontamination,mainlyfromfoodandliquidwaste,aswellase-wasteandstyrofoam,saidNEA. Householdsalsodeposititemssuchasclothingandsofttoys,whichshouldnotbeplacedintothebluebins. Tonudgehouseholdstostepuptheirrecyclingefforts,NEAisalsoplanningtodistributerecyclingcontainerstothosethatwanttheminthelaterpartof2022.Moredetailswillbeannouncedatalaterstage. Ainfographicshowingthe2021wasteandrecyclingstatistics.(Graphic:NEA) NON-DOMESTICSECTOR Therecyclingrateofthenon-domesticsector,whichincludes industriesandcommercialpremises,increasedfrom68percentto70percentin2021. Recyclingratesforplastic,horticulturalandwoodwastealsoimprovedby2percentagepoints,3percentagepointsand12percentagepointsrespectively. “WastegeneratorssentmoreofsuchwastetobiomassandcompostingfacilitiesforrecyclinginsteadoftheWaste-to-Energyplants,”saidNEA.  Therecyclingrateofpaperandcardboardincreasedto39percentlastyearascomparedto38percenttheyearbefore. Theagencynotedthatwiththeamountofwastegenerated growingaseconomicactivitiesrampup,therewillbegreaterurgencytoshiftfromalineartoacirculareconomy.  “WiththeSingaporeGreenPlan2030andtheZeroWasteMasterplan,ournationalgoalsaretoachievea70percentoverallrecyclingrateby2030andtoreducetheamountofwastesenttoSemakauLandfillby20percentpercapitaperdayby2026and30percentpercapitaperdayby2030,”saidNEA.  Thiswillhelptoextendthelifespanoftheremaininglandfill,whichwillbefilledupby2035atthecurrentratesofwastedisposal,itadded.  NEAalsoaddedthatSingapore’svisionofbecominga“zerowastenation”willtaketheeffortsofthewholecountry.     “Thisisalong-termeffortthatrequiresallofus–fromthepeople,privateandpublicsector–toworktogether.”  Related: Cash-for-recyclingprogrammeamonginitiativesunderPAP’snewgreenplanfortowns Threeinfivehouseholdsrecycledregularly:NEAsurvey Source:CNA/yb(aj) RelatedTopics Recycling wastemanagement Advertisement Alsoworthreading Contentisloading... Advertisement Expandtoreadthefullstory Thisbrowserisnolongersupported Weknowit'sahassletoswitchbrowsersbutwewantyourexperiencewithCNAtobefast,secureandthebestitcanpossiblybe. Tocontinue,upgradetoasupportedbrowseror,forthefinestexperience,downloadthemobileapp. Upgradedbutstillhavingissues?Contactus