Laws and Regulations

National Laws and Regulation

Singapore designated 2019 as the Year Towards Zero Waste. The goal of becoming a zero waste nation would be achieved by reducing consumption of materials, and reusing and recycling them for a second lease of life (NEA, 2019).

NEA utilises the Environmental Protection and Management Act, Chapter 94A (Original Enactment: Act 9 of 1999). Part V, Premise 15, Number 1 states: ‘Any person who discharges or causes or permits to be discharged any trade effluent, oil, chemical, sewage or other polluting matters into any drain or land, without a written permission from the Director-General, shall be guilty of an offence’. Other pollutants may include land-based litter such as plastic waste. Conviction of failure to comply shall result in payment of a fine not exceeding S$5,000.

In accordance with the Act, another land-based litter prevention is provided in the Environmental Public Health Act Chapter 95 (Original Enactment: Act 14 of 1987). Part III Premise 19 Number (1) Letter (a) states: ‘Any person who drops, scatters, spills or throws any noxious liquid, dirt, sand, earth, gravel, clay, loam, manure, refuse, sawdust, shavings, stone, straw or any other similar matter or thing in any public place (whether from a moving or stationary vehicle or in any other manner) shall be guilty of an offence’. Meanwhile, Part III Premise 20 Number (1) states: ‘Any person who (a) dumps or disposes of any refuse, waste or any other article from a vehicle in a public place; or (b) uses a vehicle for the purpose of dumping or disposing of any refuse, waste or any other article in a public place, shall be guilty of an offence’. The Act was amended on 1 April 2014 to enable a mandatory reporting of waste data and submission of waste reduction plans by any owner, occupier, or lessee of a work place (any premises or place used for any industrial, trade, commercial or manufacturing purposes, including all construction sites, work sites, and farms).

In practise, the government is going beyond laws and regulations. Since it considers public education and awareness as the most essential factors, Singapore has conducted campaigns such as Clean and Green Singapore and Keep Singapore Clean Movement, programmes for corporations, schemes such as Clean Development Mechanism and Singapore Packaging Agreement, grants and funding such as Towards Zero Waste Grant, and many more.

Adopting the Extended Producer Responsibility framework, Singapore enacted on 04 October 2019 the Resource Sustainability Act 2019 (Act 29 of 2019), which includes regulatory measures on electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), packaging (including plastic) waste, and food waste.

Under the framework,  producers of electrical and electronic products are regulated through the Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS), in which big producers supplying more than a specified threshold amount of regulated products to the local market will bear the costs of operating the scheme, including collection, treatment, and recycling of wastes. Overall implementation of the PRS will be managed by a licensed PRS operator appointed by the National Environment Agency (NEA). The PRS operator will be responsible in meeting collection targets, which are 60% of put-to-market (supply) weight for large household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines; and 20% for regulated consumer products such as printers, laptops, mobile phones, routers, lamps, and portable batteries (MEWR, 2019). Large retailers occupying a floor area of or more than 300 square metres must offer in-store collection of certain regulated consumer product waste and ensure its collection by PRS operators (Section 15). Producers of non-consumer products (e.g. commercial and industrial equipment marketed and sold to businesses, such as solar photovoltaic panels and servers) shall provide, upon request, free take-back from their clients of all their end-of-life products and send them to licensed waste collectors or e-waste recyclers (Section 13). These regulatory measures will be enforced starting 01 July 2021.

Manufacturers, importers, brand owners, and retailers of packaged products with an annual turnover of more than S$10 million shall report to the NEA their packaging data (Section 20), which shall consist of information on type of packaging material (e.g. plastic, paper, metal, glass); packaging form (e.g. carrier bag, bottle); and weight (MEWR, 2019). Producers will be required to submit plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle their packaging (3R plan), including details of key initiatives, key performance indicators, and targets. The 3R plan shall consider packaging reduction; packaging collection for reuse or recycling; outreach related to reducing, reusing, and recycling packaging; use of recycled content in packaging; and improvements in recyclability of packaging (MEWR, 2019). Producers will be required to submit progress of their plans in subsequent reports. These regulatory measures will be enforced starting 01 July 2020, with the first reporting submitted to NEA in 2021.

Owners and operators of commercial and industrial premises, including large hotels, malls, housing projects, and food manufacturers and caterers, are mandated to segregate their food waste for treatment (MEWR, 2019). This regulatory measure will come into operation in 2024.