Smart recycling boxes rolled out at 51 new spots since May; 37 in Ang Mo Kio GRC

SINGAPORE – Local waste company 800 Super has pushed ahead with a wider roll-out of its smart recycling boxes since May, close to a year after ironing out several kinks in the technology used in its pilot across 10 locations in Bishan East-Sin Ming.

Over the past two weeks, the company has fitted out its bins – which let users exchange recyclables for FairPrice vouchers – at 14 locations across Serangoon North, Potong Pasir and Braddell Heights.

The system was also rolled out at 37 void decks across all Ang Mo Kio GRC divisions in May.

800 Super is the public waste collector appointed by the National Environment Agency to collect refuse and recyclables for the Ang Mo Kio-Toa Payoh sector. It also serves the Pasir Ris-Bedok sector.

Glitches such as login difficulties, blank screens and hatches that would not open in the bins used during the two-year trial in Bishan and Sin Ming should now be a thing of the past.

Those bins have been replaced by improved ones from a new vendor, 800 Super told The Straits Times ahead of the launch of the Ang Mo Kio bins on July 20.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong attended the launch on the sidelines of an event celebrating the completion of the Teck Ghee Neighbourhood Renewal Programme at Blocks 221 to 226 in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

The software powering the smart recycling boxes has become more intuitive, requiring users to only key in their mobile numbers to unlock hatches to dispose of recyclables according to type – metal, plastic, paper, glass and old clothes.

Users previously needed to generate a QR code from the 800 Super Recycle Right mobile app to scan it on a QR reader at the bins to unlock a hatch. Even so, screens sometimes turned unresponsive after a scan, leaving users stranded with their recyclables.

The risk of being stranded with recyclables is lower now as the refreshed app allows users to check the live “fill” status for each bin before they make their way down.

Previously, users could not find out if a bin close to them was full.

The new bins are bigger as well, allowing residents to fit more recyclables. Each of the five bins situated at each void deck can accommodate 360 litres, up from 240 litres previously.

Since July 2024, when the

bins at the trial sites

were replaced, recycling rates there have more than doubled owing to the ease of use of the new bins. Monthly collections from the 10 trial sites have averaged some 15,000kg since the switch – a far cry from the 7,517kg average in the seven months prior.

Since the smart bins were rolled out in Ang Mo Kio GRC between May 13 and 19, more than 2,500 residents have downloaded the 800 Super app. As at July 1, they have recycled 29,961kg of metal, plastic, paper, glass and textiles.

Madam Florence Lee, a 76-year-old retired hotel housekeeper, has used the bins below her flat at Block 225 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 more than 200 times since they were installed, earning 1,072 points. She can use 1,000 points to claim a $10 FairPrice voucher.

On July 20, she brought a bag of about 20 metal cans to the recycling bin, deftly keyed in her mobile number on the screen and deposited the cans without a hitch, earning a point for her effort. She had brought the cans she collected from her estate back to her flat for a wash first.

On her mobile app, ST could see that her last deposit of 1.96kg of paper waste the night before was more rewarding, yielding her 10 points. Her best returns were 30 points, from depositing a big bag of used clothes someone else had left by a common bin.

Since she noticed the segregated recycling bins, she told ST, she has made it a daily routine to pick and sort common refuse, such as used delivery boxes.

A former avid user of the blue recycling bins, she said she does not mind going the extra mile, now that she will be rewarded for her recycling efforts.

“I am used to it. Even without this, I always take (recyclables) to throw in the (blue bins). People stare at me, but I am doing the right thing,” she said, noting that people “spoil the world” when they do not do their part for the environment.

The blue bins are a less sophisticated means of collecting recyclables, with metal, glass, plastic and paper waste mixed in a bin and sorted later at facilities.

Residents said there is still room for improvement. 800 Super could, for example, provide a QR code directing new users to download the app. They could also make the rewards system more bite-size to motivate users to develop the habit of recycling.

A 65-year-old former office worker, who arrived at the bins in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 with two big bags of paper and plastic recyclables on July 20, said that, since hearing about the bins weeks ago, she has accumulated only 50 points despite making it a point to recycle items.

She said she would feel more motivated to recycle if incentives could be redeemed in 100-point blocks.

For the rest of the year, 800 Super will set up new boxes at 32 other locations in the Ang Mo Kio-Toa Payoh sector.

800 Super director Milton Ng said the initiative supports the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and the national push towards becoming a Zero Waste Nation by providing residents with convenient, 24/7 access to segregated recycling.

The pilot showed recyclables collected through the smart bins were cleaner by 95 per cent, he added. This is significant as contamination is a major challenge for domestic recycling. Contaminated recyclables are incinerated.

Separately, SM Lee thanked residents at the completion ceremony of the Teck Ghee Neighbourhood Renewal Programme for putting up with the noise and inconvenience since upgrading works started during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

The government-funded initiative to rejuvenate older estates delivered close to 30 new and upgraded facilities, including covered linkways, drop-off points and covered barrier-free access ramps to improve the area’s connectivity, the Ang Mo Kio Town Council said.

“Four years through Covid-19, we persevered and we (have) now completed it,” SM Lee said, as he urged residents to make full use of the new facilities.

“We hope that this will make you a little happier and give you more opportunities to live fulfilling, healthy, forward-looking good lives.”

At the ceremony, the town council also launched a set of exclusive commemorative tattoo stickers, which feature the dragon playground in Cheng San and the twin Merlion statues in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, among other heritage icons.

Residents may collect the stickers from the front counter of the town council’s offices in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Avenue 10.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that 800 Super will set up new smart recycling boxes at 22 other locations this year, instead of 32. This has been corrected.