Export of Singapore’s Recyclable Waste

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources how much of Singapore's recyclable waste is exported to overseas processors and which countries are the largest receivers of our recyclable waste.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Singapore recycles, on average, around 60% of our total waste generated. In 2018, about 30% of recyclable material, such as paper, plastics, glass and metal, was exported to countries including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand for processing and recycling.

While the bulk of recyclables are already processed locally, my Ministry recognises the need for Singapore to continue building up our local recycling capabilities. This will allow us to better extract resources from waste and close the waste loop through adopting a circular economy approach. NEA is currently studying e-waste and plastics recycling solutions and technologies available in the market, and assessing their suitability for adoption in Singapore in terms of both environmental and economic sustainability.