Search Results
Results from Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do you operate the textile recycling bins?
No. Read more here: https://recyclopedia.sg/resources/lifeline-bins
Where is the nearest Cloop recycling bin?
Please see the link to the map on the Cloop Life Line Bins page.
What do I do if my Cloop bins is full?
Contact 3159 5141 if the bin is full. Call operation hours: 8.00am - 5.30pm (Monday-Friday) & 8.00am - 1.00pm (Saturday)
Alternatively, PM @cloop.sg on IG anytime to let them know.
Do not leave clothes outside the bin. They may be damaged by rain or removed by the town council. Wet clothes cannot be recycled! Please return later or find the next nearest bin.
The bin operators endeavour to clear bins regularly and when they are full. However this is not always possible especially during peak times (eg spring cleaning) and long weekends.
Why don't you include [Shop's Name] Recycling Programme?
We're not usually fans of in-store recycling programmes which are often just for marketing. Generally speaking, when take-back programme offer vouchers toward future purchases, they are not so interested in waste reduction: they are interested in selling more stuff.
In case you hadn't noticed, we're all about REDUCE around here!
Yes recycling and selling are not mutually exclusive. So we make an effort to try learn more about what happens to goods dropped off at bins in stores.
Often, the story is not good. Clothes are dumped. Unrecyclable plastics are tipped into the blue bin. Oily unrecyclable tubes are discarded or wrongly put in the recycling bin.
Sometimes companies have excellent recycling programmes in their home country, but in Asia they don't have the logistics to carry out proper recycling but keep the pretense up for show. There's a word for that: greenwashing.
Bottom line is that unless we find good information and transparency about a company's local ability to recycle under such programmes, we avoid them.
What are the Blue Bins?
In Singapore, saying you are putting something in “the blue bin” means you are sending it for recycling… Saying that, not all recycling bins are blue!
The blue bins are provided by public waste collectors “PWC”. The PWCs are under contract from NEA to remove rubbish and collect recyclables from designated geographical areas. You find them in HDBs, landed residential property, and some private and commercial buildings.
The blue bins are for “comingled” recycling meaning multiple materials (paper, metal, plastic, glass) can go into one bin.
Why are there 3 coloured recycling bins in some places instead of a blue bin?
Use of the segregated bins requires you to sort your recycling before disposing of it. There are typically 3 bins: paper, glass & plastic, and metal. However different locations my have different categories. Often there is no glass bin, or there may be other special bins for, say, tetrapacks or soft drink bottles.
Segregated bins are usually provided when a building has arranged for their waste to be collected by a General Waste Collector ("GWC"). These are private companies that are smaller than the big Public Waste Collectors. These companies may not have the sorting facilities of the big PWCs so they required the recycables to be pre-sorted before collection hence the use of segregated bins.
Read more here.
Why does Singapore mix all recyclables into one bin? Isn't it better to separate them like some other countries?
You have probably seen amazing videos of Japanese villagers lovingly separating their waste into 45 categories and producing almost no trash. And it is true that systems where all recyclables are put into a single bin (known as Single Stream Recycling or commingled recycling) tend to have lower recycling rates because of contamination and difficulties in the sorting process.
Segregated recycling (where households have to sort the materials themselves), however, is far more expensive to maintain: it requires more bins, more trucks, more labour, and overall more complex logistics. It also requires a lot of public education.
It would be very costly at this stage to change systems and the potential for an increase in recycling rates is likely small compared to the huge cost it would require to change systems. So for now, the focus is on making the existing system work better.
Why don't your recommendations always agree with official recycling guidelines by NEA?
There are some cases where NEA guidelines indicate an item can go in a blue bin (check here) and yet Recyclopedia indicates the opposite.
Why? For a handful of items, the chance of them getting recycled via the blue bin is so low or non-existent that we recommend avoiding blue bins altogether. This may include just throwing it in the trash!
To get a more accurate picture of the difference between what is “technically recyclable” and what is “actually recycled,” we speak to operators in the recycling industry. We also monitor industry reports, market news, and prices.
But why would NEA say something could go in a blue bin if it doesn't get recycled in practice?
This is not a “wayang”! There is some history to this difference in approach that should be understood.
The blue bin recycling system was set up in 2014 when market conditions for waste materials were very different, particularly for plastics. Since then, China has stopped accepting virtually all plastic waste. This means that many of the plastics which were “recyclable” (or at least exportable) a decade ago are no longer recyclable today.
Blue bin guidelines do not reflect market conditions. NEA's goal is to inform people of what is technically recyclable, but what is actually recycled depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. From their perspective, those materials may get recycled again one day if market conditions change or new technology comes along. They may be concerned (we are guessing) that if they revise the info they provide to the public, they may need to change it back one day.
Recyclopedia, on the other hand, takes a different approach.
Firstly, we don't believe those conditions are going to change or if they do, it will take a very long time. For many of these plastics, the recycling market is not going to return for the foreseeable future.
We believe that if a material is not recycled in practice, it is a waste of time and effort for people to put it in a recycling bin:
- it's a waste of energy and water to wash and dry dirty containers that won't get recycled
- likewise, these items are a burden on the recycling infrastructure (trucking it around and sorting it at the MRF): we call this latter burden “taking the long road to the incinerator.”
There is another more philosophical reason for this position: we believe delusions about recycling discourage people from being more considerate consumers. It's like greenwashing ourselves.
Consumers who want to make the most sustainable buying choices need to have accurate info on whether something they buy can actually be recycled. Unfortunately many people believe there is a recycling fairy that will make all their purchases sustainable and environmentally friendly. So at the very least, consumers should not be deluded and left “feeling good” about putting items in the blue bin which are destined to be incinerated.