SINGAPORE - Singapore's recycling rate dipped for the first time in more than a decade last year (2014), though this was due to a large drop in the amount of construction and demolition waste created in the first place.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Thursday that the overall recycling rate fell from 61 per cent in 2013 to 60 per cent. It added: "This is due mainly to the large drop, of about 425,000 tonnes, in construction and demolition waste."

The agency said such waste is the second-largest type of rubbish in Singapore, after ferrous metals, accounting for 22 per cent of all waste in 2013. This proportion fell to 17 per cent last year.

The reduction in construction and demolition waste affected the overall recycling rate as almost all of it is recycled. "Excluding (such) waste, the overall recycling rate increased marginally from 51.1 per cent in 2013 to 51.4 per cent last year," NEA said.