All new BTO flats to sport suite of eco-features

SINGAPORE — All future public housing developments will have a standard suite of eco-friendly features such as centralised chutes for recyclable waste and LED lighting with motion-sensor control in common areas, starting with those offered in the Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise launched yesterday, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced.

The new flats will also have an integrated basin-toilet pedestal system, which uses water from sinks to flush the toilets. To encourage residents to adopt a more environmentally-friendly mode of transport, the projects will have more sheltered bicycle parking lots and bicycle ramps.

The HDB launched 3,139 BTO flats for sale in the year’s first BTO exercise. These new flats will be located in Serangoon, which is considered a mature estate, as well as in the non-mature towns of Bukit Batok, Jurong West, Punggol and Woodlands.

On the move towards building eco-friendly flats, the HDB said: “A key goal for Singapore is to grow in an efficient, clean and green way. As HDB flats house over 80 per cent of Singapore’s resident population, HDB has a major role to play in supporting the national commitment to sustainable development in HDB towns and estates.”

Writing on his blog, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the success of Singapore’s first eco-precinct Treelodge@Punggol gave the HDB the confidence to extend the eco-features to all future public housing projects. “Our vision is for all new HDB towns to be clean, green and healthy,” he said. “My sense is that Singaporeans, given proper support, can embrace such a lifestyle too.”

At Treelodge@Punggol, its centralised chutes for recyclables have collected three times the amount of recyclables compared to other HDB blocks, while electricity consumption has been reduced due to energy-efficient features such as the LED lighting with motion-sensor controls.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, a HDB spokesperson said that in pricing the new flats, the eco-features — which will also help town councils offset increases in operating and maintenance costs — will be taken into consideration, along with other attributes of the flats. Nevertheless, the new features are “not expected to increase the pricing significantly”, added the spokesperson.

In the latest BTO exercise, a four-room unit at the Woodlands Glen project, for example, costs S$234,000 and above, excluding grants. A five-room flat at the Punggol BayView project costs S$393,000 and above.

Environmentalists TODAY spoke to welcomed the HDB’s latest move to encourage conservation among Singaporeans. Singapore Environment Council Executive Director Jose Raymond said: “The HDB builds thousands of flats on an annual basis ... the efforts of the HDB in environmental protection is undoubtedly a major game changer in helping Singaporeans adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle.”

While Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore Chairman Edwin Khew lauded the HDB’s initiative, he felt that a stronger message needs to be sent to encourage residents to take ownership of what they choose to recycle or dispose of, given that people are “buying and throwing away more”.

Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah said the Government is “walking the talk” in terms of environmental conservation.

“To have clean, green and healthy towns, we also need a change in the habits of residents. This includes no littering, not passing second-hand smoke to residents and cycling responsibly,” she said.