SINGAPORE — Every morning, trucks from waste-management company Sembcorp make their rounds in several estates around Singapore to pick up recyclables from the blue bins at Housing and Development Board blocks.

The recyclables are sorted at Sembcorp’s Materials Recovery Facility in Tuas, but contaminated or unrecyclable items such as wet plastics, food waste and drinks make up a whopping 40 per cent of what is collected.

The facility — the largest in Singapore — receives up to 60 tonnes of waste a day but is only able to recycle 50 to 60 per cent of it, said Mr Tan Chee Boon, 46, a manager at the facility.

The recycling rate has remained stagnant for 10 years. Mr Tan recalled that on one occasion, the facility had to stop operations for 30 to 40 minutes because a packet of curry powder — which was among the recyclables — broke. Workers had to use a mechanical air ventilator to clear the facility of the powder.

The Government has designated 2019 as the “Year Towards Zero Waste” and, in a bid to boost recycling rates, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor announced on Tuesday (Jan 22) the launch of a S$2 million grant to support community efforts to reduce waste.

“Through the ‘Towards Zero Waste Grant’, we hope to support ground-up initiatives from the people, public and private sectors that will rally the community to take positive actions, and help Singapore achieve its vision of a Zero Waste Nation,” Dr Khor told reporters on a visit to Sembcorp’s facility. 

“I encourage individuals and groups with good ideas for reducing waste and recycling right to come forward to apply for this grant,” she said.

A spokesman from the National Environment Agency said further details on the grant would be available on its website on Feb 1.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, more than half of Singaporeans polled feel that it is important to recycle regularly but lack understanding of what materials could be recycled.

“Currently, 40 per cent of what goes into the blue recycling bins cannot be recycled because people put in items… such as shoes, tissue paper as well as items which are contaminated with food waste or liquid. As a result of this, the workers have to spend considerable time and effort to separate these items from what can be recycled,” said Dr Khor.