60% of Singaporean households recycle regularly, but many not doing it right: Surveys

Channel NewsAsia 29 Apr 19;

SINGAPORE: Can plastic toys, clothes and glass pots be recycled? If you say yes, you're not alone, but these items do not belong in a recycling bin, according to authorities.

Around 60 per cent of Singaporean households recycle regularly, but many still find it difficult to identify contaminants and non-recyclables, surveys conducted by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have found.

The two surveys, which were conducted between June 2018 and February 2019, covered different aspects of household recycling, said the agencies in a joint media release on Monday (Apr 29).

According to the findings, the top items recycled were paper materials like newspapers, magazines, junk mail, brochures and writing paper.

Clothes, shoes and bags were also among the top items recycled. However, these items should be donated – if in good condition – instead of being recycled, said the agencies.

“These wrongly recycled items contribute to the high contamination rate of the recyclables collected from the blue recycling bins,” said MEWR and NEA.

Another category of items which were also regularly recycled were plastic drink bottles, aluminum cans and glass beer/wine bottles.

“While these items can be recycled, they should be emptied and rinsed clean wherever possible,” reminded the agencies.

The most common channel used for recycling was the blue recycling bins, with 56 per cent of regular recyclers using the bins at least once a week, the findings showed.

Convenience was one of the most commonly cited reasons for those who recycled regularly, according to MEWR's survey.

NEA's survey also found that this group of households found recycling to be "second nature" and part of their daily routine.

67% THOUGHT SOILED FOOD PACKAGING CAN BE RECYCLED

Even though the findings showed that respondents were generally capable of identifying recyclable items, they had difficulty identifying contaminants and non-recyclables, said MEWR and NEA.

According to MEWR’s survey, 67 per cent of respondents thought that soiled paper food packaging can be recycled, while another 62 per cent thought that glass cookware or porcelain/ceramics can be recycled.

Other items that were wrongly identified as recyclables were plastic toys, tissue paper and Styrofoam.

Around 60 per cent of respondents also mistakenly thought that recyclables had to be sorted by type before being deposited into recycling bins, said the agencies.

"There is no need to pre-sort items that are deposited into the blue recycling bins, because the contents of the blue recycling bins will be transported to the MRF (Material Recovery Facilities) where the sorting takes place."

TOO BUSY, INCONVENIENT TO RECYCLE

As for households who did not recycle regularly, the most common reasons were related to convenience.

Some of the reasons included having too few items to recycle, being too busy or tired, as well as not having enough space to accumulate recyclables in their homes.

“Barriers cited by households who did not recycle regularly suggest that recycling was perceived as inconvenient and secondary in their daily routine,” said the agencies.

“Hence, helping Singaporeans to see that recycling is easy and helping with habit formation are important in improving Singapore’s household recycling rate.”

In 2017, it was announced that dual chutes for refuse and recyclables will be installed at all new non-landed residential developments.

All new Build-To-Order Housing and Development Board flats have installed recycling chutes adjacent to centralised refuse chutes at every level since January 2014.

This requirement has also been extended to buildings taller than four storeys in all new non-landed private residential developments since Apr 1 last year.

For the two surveys, MEWR and NEA surveyed 2,003 and 3,445 randomly-selected households respectively through face-to-face interviews.

Source: CNA/ad(hm)

Most S’porean households recycle regularly, but many can’t differentiate between ‘recyclable’ and ‘reusable’
ASYRAF KAMIL Channel NewsAsia 29 Apr 19;

SINGAPORE — About six in 10 Singaporean households recycle regularly, with the most common channel being the blue recycling bins located around housing estates, two surveys conducted by the authorities have shown.

The surveys — done separately by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) — also found that convenience was an important factor to recycling, and that respondents were generally capable of identifying recyclable items, but had difficulty identifying contaminants and non-recyclables.

The surveys were conducted between June 2018 and February 2019 and covered different aspects of household recycling, said MEWR and NEA in a joint statement on Monday (April 29).

SOME KEY FINDINGS

Around 60 per cent of Singaporean households recycle regularly

Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, brochures and writing paper are the top items recycled, the survey found.

Paper is a suitable material to be placed in blue recycling bins, but it can be contaminated by food and liquids, said the authorities.

Other popular items placed in bins include clothes, shoes and bags, which are actually “not suitable”, the statement added.

Instead, these items — dubbed reusables — “should be donated, if in good condition, instead of being recycled”.

Convenience a key factor

The MEWR survey found that convenience was one of the most commonly cited reasons by Singaporeans for recycling regularly.

“Encouragement by the Government, concerns about being ‘wasteful’, and the feeling that one should match others’ recycling efforts were also important motivators of recycling,” the statement said.

Conversely, the most common reason for not recycling cited by respondents was that they had too few items to recycle.

“Other common reasons given were being too busy or tired, and not having enough space to accumulate recyclables in the home,” the statement added.

Reusable or recyclable?

A significant proportion of Singaporeans surveyed mistakenly classified as recyclables, items that should either be disposed of or be treated as reusables.

These include soiled paper food packaging, tissue paper and styrofoam, which should be disposed of as general waste; as well as soft toys, bags and shoes, which are reusables and not suitable for recycling.

Around 60 per cent of Singaporeans also mistakenly thought that recyclables have to be sorted by type before being deposited into blue bins or recycling chutes.

Pre-sorting is not necessary, said the authorities, because items in recycling bins are transported to Material Recovery Facilities and sorted there.

GETTING RECYCLING RIGHT

The authorities added that all new public housing developments launched since 2014 have been fitted with dual chutes, for refuse and recyclables, to make recycling more convenient.

Pilot trials to ease recycling into Singaporeans’ daily routine and help cultivate stronger recycling habits are in the works, and the design of recycling bin labels will also be refreshed to better present information, added the statement.

MORE ABOUT THE SURVEYS

NEA’s Customer Satisfaction Survey on Public Waste Collection Scheme 2018 is a biennial survey which focuses broadly on households’ experiences with the recycling collection services and infrastructure at their homes.

MEWR’s Survey on Household Recycling Behaviours, Attitudes and Knowledge was commissioned specially for the Year Towards Zero Waste, designated as 2019, and complements NEA’s survey by delving deeper into specific areas of interest.

MEWR and NEA surveyed 2,003 and 3,445 randomly selected Singapore households respectively, via face-to-face interviews.

6 in 10 S'porean households recycle regularly, though misconceptions about the process remain: Surveys
Ng Huiwen Straits Times 29 Apr 19;

SINGAPORE - About six in 10 Singaporean households recycle regularly, with items such as paper materials and clothes among the most common items being recycled, according to two recent surveys.

But the surveys also found that more can be done to help Singaporeans identify items that should not be thrown into a recycling bin, especially those which could contaminate the entire collection.

The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) surveyed more than 5,000 Singaporean households between June last year and February.

The findings of both surveys, which covered different aspects of household recycling and were carried out face-to-face, were released by the two agencies in a joint statement on Monday (April 29).

Among the key findings released was that 56 per cent of "regular recyclers" surveyed use the blue recycling bins at least once a week.

The top category of recycled items was paper materials such as newspapers, magazines, junk mail, brochures and writing paper.

While these items are suitable for the blue recycling bins, they are more likely to be contaminated by food and liquids.

Bales of used plastics at the SembWaste Materials Recovery Facility. About 40 per cent to 50 per cent of waste at the facility is contaminated or not recyclable.

Clothes, shoes and bags were also commonly recycled, though the agencies noted that these items were not suitable to be left in the blue recycling bins.

Other top items include plastic drink bottles, aluminium cans and glass beer or wine bottles, which should be emptied and rinsed clean when possible so that they do not contaminate the bin and attract pests.

MEWR's survey on household recycling behaviours, attitudes and knowledge found that convenience was one of the most commonly cited reasons for recycling regularly.

Others were motivated by encouragement from the Government, concerns about being wasteful and the feeling that one should match others' recycling efforts.

The most common reason for not recycling was having "too few items to recycle".

Other common reasons given by respondents for not recycling were that they were too busy or tired, or had a lack of space to collect recyclables in their home.

Households that did not recycle were found to have the perception that recycling was inconvenient and secondary to their daily routine.

When asked to classify recyclables and non-recyclables, the respondents in both surveys were able to correctly do so for an average of seven out of 10 items.

However, a significant proportion of them mistook items that should be disposed of or reused as recyclables.

These items include contaminants that should be thrown away such as soiled paper food packaging, tissue paper and styrofoam, as well as ones that should be donated instead, like soft toys, bags and shoes.

These wrongly recycled items contribute to the high contamination rate of the recyclables collected from the blue recycling bins, the agencies said. These contaminated recyclables become unsuitable for recycling.

Another misconception among 60 per cent of Singaporean households was that recyclables had to be sorted by their type before they can be dropped into the blue recycling bins or recycling chutes.

The agencies said that this correlates with another finding that 43 per cent of Singaporean households were unaware that recyclables deposited into these bins were sorted at material recovery facilities after they are collected.

"There is no need to pre-sort items that are deposited into the blue recycling bins, because the contents of the blue recycling bins will be transported to the material recovery facilities where the sorting takes place," the statement said.

NEA's survey, which is conducted biennially, is aimed broadly at households' experiences with recycling collection services and infrastructure in their homes.

The MEWR survey was commissioned for the Year Towards Zero Waste, and complements NEA's survey by delving deeper into specific areas of interest.

MEWR and NEA said that there are efforts underway to make recycling more convenient for households here.

For instance, all new public housing developments launched since 2014 have been fitted with dual chutes for refuse and recyclables.

This requirement has also been extended to buildings taller than four storeys in all new non-landed private residential developments since April last year.

The agencies said that these initiatives will make recycling more accessible for residents in apartments and in landed homes.

Other efforts include pilot trials to encourage in-home recycling in households so that it becomes part of Singaporeans' daily routine.

"We are also refreshing the design of the blue recycling bin labels to improve the presentation of information on recycling, to help more people recycle right," the agencies said. The new design is expected to be ready by this year.

The public can locate the nearest recycling bins and recyclables collection points at the NEA website, its social media accounts or its myENV mobile application.