72% of households recycle in 2023: NEA survey
Singaporeans’ general awareness of what to and not to recycle has also increased.
About 72 per cent of households in Singapore recycle in 2023, though there are some that are unaware of what not to throw into recycling bins. These are findings from a recent survey done by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The household recycling rate is significantly higher than the 64 per cent recorded in a similar survey done in 2021.
Singaporeans are now more aware of common items that can be deposited into a blue recycling bin. For instance, 89 per cent of respondents know that rinsed shampoo and detergent bottles can be recycled, compared to 71 per cent back in 2021.
Generally, awareness about items that cannot be recycled has also increased. Such items include tissue paper, styrofoam boxes and soft toys.
In hopes of encouraging more Singaporeans to recycle regularly and correctly, NEA launched the Recycle Right campaign on Thursday (Sep 14).
The campaign is in line with the Zero Waste Masterplan and the Singapore Green Plan, which aims for Singapore to achieve a 70 per cent overall recycling rate by 2030.
Featuring a blue recycling mascot named Bloobin, the campaign includes an online game and bite-sized educational videos showcasing how recycling can be incorporated into aspects of daily life, such as buying takeaways and making online purchases.
To lower contamination rates, town councils with dual-chute estates will install chute stickers to remind residents what can be recycled.
In order to make recycling information more accessible to schools, the campaign also features various engagement materials catered to different student age groups.
These materials include an e-activity book for pre-school children, an interactive comic book with Augmented Reality (AR) features for upper primary students, a card game with AR features for secondary school to junior college students, and a blind box challenge for students from Institutes of Higher Learning.
Currently, each housing estate has its own dedicated blue recycling bin. Additionally, earlier this year, every household could collect a home recycling box.
More information on recyclable and non-recyclable items can be found on NEA’s Recycling Search Engine and Bloobin’s Recycling Guide.
