Contamination Rates at Household Recycling Bins and Chutes and Measures to Reduce Contamination

Mr Ng Chee Meng asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how long has the average contamination rates of household recycling bins and chutes remained at about 40%; (b) what efforts are being considered to reduce these contamination rates; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider setting a target to reduce the contamination rates.

The aggregated contamination rate for recycling bins and chutes under the National Recycling Programme has remained at about 40% since 2018.

The National Environment Agency has implemented a range of efforts to address the issue of contaminated recyclables. These include sustained public education and outreach efforts, such as the Recycle Right campaign. We have also expanded the collection of clean stream recyclables through the extended producer responsibility schemes for e-waste and beverage containers. We welcome ground-up initiatives by community partners to explore alternative approaches to recycling and will review the effectiveness of such measures.

We aim to reduce the contamination rate as much as possible. We are monitoring the results of ongoing efforts to improve recycling outcomes and ask that everyone exercise collective responsibility to minimise contamination in our recycling bins and chutes.