Comprehensive National Plan for Managing e-Waste

Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether there is a comprehensive national plan for managing e-waste; (b) how does NEA facilitate e-waste recycling in Singapore; and (c) what are the statistics on the rate of e-waste recycling by entities differentiated according to commercial, Government and/or household categories.

While my Ministry currently does not collect data on the rate of e-waste recycling by households, Government or commercial entities, it is estimated from the available data that about 60,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated annually in Singapore. About half is estimated to be common household information technology (IT) products and home appliances, while the rest comprises information and communications technology (ICT) equipment generated by the commercial and industrial sectors.

My Ministry is exploring options for a comprehensive system for the collection, recycling and management of e-waste to be implemented nationwide. The National Environment Agency commissioned a study in March 2016 to develop possible options. The study includes a survey of the entire e-waste collection and recycling value chain, including treatment and disposal. The survey results will help in the development of feasible designs for an efficient and effective e-waste management framework, along with inputs from stakeholder consultations which will take place in the coming months.

To facilitate e-waste recycling in Singapore and in preparation for the possible implementation of an e-waste management framework, we have formed a national voluntary partnership for e-waste recycling with interested stakeholders. The partnership comprises producers and retailers of electronic and electrical products, as well as e-waste recycling service providers.

We also support voluntary recycling programmes, such as REcycling Nation's Electronic Waste (RENEW), which is led by StarHub, DHL and recycler TES-AMM. RENEW now covers 185 locations around Singapore with 235 e-waste recycling bins in place. We will work with our partners to expand these programmes and explore new ones, to increase awareness of e-waste recycling and provide convenient recycling services for the public.