Upgrading Rubbish Trucks into Newer and Quieter Electric Vehicles

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider working with companies to upgrade rubbish trucks into newer and quieter electric vehicles.

As part of the National Environment Agency's (NEA) efforts to transform the waste management industry to be more sustainable, NEA encourages Public Waste Collectors (PWCs) to use electric vehicles (EVs) in their waste collection fleets. Since 2019, higher scores are awarded to tenderers proposing EVs for their waste collection vehicles. NEA has also introduced a new requirement in contracts called since June 2020 for PWCs to deploy at least 11 EVs for refuse collection and three EVs for collection of recyclables. With this requirement, EVs will make up about a third of the fleet in the new contracts.

As the use of EVs is still relatively nascent in Singapore, NEA has adopted a phased approach to electrify our refuse and recyclables collection fleet. This allows PWCs to acquire expertise in EV fleet management over time, including operational considerations such as designing truck routes to factor in charging locations and time. Such a calibrated approach will also mitigate potential inconveniences to waste collection services and manage costs. NEA will refine the requirements over time.

We are heartened that all PWCs have taken the lead to voluntarily introduce EVs into their collection fleet ahead of the contract requirement. For example, 800 Super has three EVs operating in the Pasir Ris-Bedok sector, while ALBA W&H and SembWaste plan to bring in three EVs and 10 EVs for the Jurong and Clementi-Bukit Merah sectors respectively. We will continue to work with the PWCs to adopt sustainable solutions for the waste collection industry.