Under this programme launched in April 2001, the public waste collectors (PWCs) licensed by NEA are required to provide recycling bins and recycling collection services to all HDB estates, private landed properties and condominiums/private apartments opted into the public waste collection scheme.
Public waste collection sectors
Collection system
The NRP adopts a collection system in which paper, plastic, glass and metal recyclables are deposited into the same blue recycling bin for collection by the PWCs. To find out what can be recycled, please check out Bloobin’s Recycling Guide for his advice on the common list of recyclables or the Recycling Search Engine.
The mixed recyclables are collected by dedicated recycling trucks and sent to Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) for sorting. After sorting, the recyclable materials are sent to recycling facilities for further processing. For more information on what happens after collection, please refer to this link.
Collection of garden waste, e.g. cut grass, leaves and twigs, is also provided for private landed properties.
Recycling bins
For HDB estates, commingled blue recycling bins are placed at open areas that are convenient and accessible to the residents. The bins are not placed at void decks for fire safety reasons.
For private landed estates, a commingled blue recycling bin, in addition to the refuse green bin, is provided to each house.
Collection frequencies
The recyclables in the recycling bins in HDB estates are collected at least thrice a week for 660L recycling bins and once a week for 1800L/2200L side-loader recycling bins, while the private landed properties are provided with weekly collection of recyclables and garden waste collection. Please refer to the table below for the collection frequencies of each PWC sector.
| PWC Sector | PWC | HDB Estates | Private Landed Properties |
| | 1 660L recycling bin per block with thrice a week collection | 1 side-loader (1800L/2200L) recycling bin per block with weekly collection | 1 recycling bin per house with weekly collection | Separate once a week collection of garden waste | Separate twice a week collection of garden waste |
|---|
| Pasir Ris –Bedok | 800 Super Waste Management Pte Ltd |  | |
|
| |
| Jurong | ALBA W&H Smart City Pte Ltd |  |  | | | |
| Clementi - Bukit Merah | SembWaste Pte Ltd | | | | | |
| City - Punggol | SembWaste Pte Ltd | | | | | |
| Ang Mo Kio - Toa Payoh | 800 Super Waste Management Pte Ltd | | | | |
|
| Woodlands - Yishun | ALBA W&H Smart City Pte Ltd | | | | |
|
To find out the collection days for individual HDB blocks or landed estates, please visit the respective PWC’s websites at the following links:
ALBA W&H Smart City Pte Ltd
SembWaste Pte Ltd
800 Super Waste Management Pte Ltd
Collection trucks
Recycling trucks can be differentiated from refuse trucks by a recycling logo featured on the side of the truck and are painted blue. Recycling trucks designs used by the PWCs are shown below.
