Tiong Bahru pilot to encourage responsible recycling kicks off; blue bins being removed

SINGAPORE – More than 50 residents streamed in for Tiong Bahru’s first community recycling drive on April 11, including one youngster who turned up in a mini push car with plastic bottles in his “boot”.

Three-year-old Ethan Bei was the youngest resident to deposit recyclables at the event at Tiong Bahru Community Centre. Called Love Tiong Bahru, this initiative was started by residents of Tiong Bahru’s Seng Poh estate, who were dismayed by the unsightliness of blue recycling bins overflowing with rubbish in the area.

Under the initiative, from April 11 to June 20, the blue bins are being removed, and residents can deposit their recyclables during community drives held twice a month at the community centre.

Volunteers will man the collection drives, held on certain Saturdays from 10am to 12.30pm, and direct residents to categorise their recyclables under paper, plastic, metal or glass.

Tiong Bahru residents turned up with bags and boxes of recyclables on April 11.

At the end of the drive, 125kg of cartons and newspapers, 40kg of glass, and 35kg of plastic were collected, among other recyclables.

Ethan’s mother, Mrs Jaclyn Bei, who is in her 40s, said she and her husband were eager to teach their son about the importance of recycling.

“Previously, we took him to the blue bins near our home to recycle items. But when I saw the overflowing bins, I felt disheartened and puzzled that some people can just dump their rubbish there,” said Mrs Bei, a homemaker.

The contamination rate for blue recycling bins has remained at about 40 per cent since 2017.

Mrs Bei, who has been living in Tiong Bahru for more than a year, added: “With this pilot, we are hoping to teach our son what can and cannot be recycled.

“For the next drive in two weeks, we are planning to take some cereal cartons and cardboard boxes to recycle.”

Another Tiong Bahru resident, Ms Katie Collantes, 35, who took boxes of plastic bottles to recycle, applauded the initiative.

Ms Collantes, who moved into Tiong Bahru in July 2025, said: “The original blue bins were cluttered, and I could tell it was not organised. Because of that, there was a mix of items that can and cannot be recycled.

“This way, we get the chance to sort them out, and make our recycling efforts more effective.”

Mr Foo Cexiang, the area’s MP, said a group of residents had approached him less than a year ago to highlight the misuse of recycling bins in the estate and suggest a recycling collection initiative.

Mr Foo said: “What really touched me the most was that the residents were prepared to invest a lot of time and effort in this initiative.

“They understood that it could be seen as quite a drastic move to remove the blue bins, but they were prepared to go door to door and explain to neighbours why this is being done and hopefully, through the process, bring the community together.”

Residents who recycle their items during the drives can also expect some incentives under the “cash-for-trash” programme by the estate’s recycling operator Cora Environment. For example, recycling 1kg of newspaper amounts to 10 cents, while 1kg of aluminium cans goes for 50 cents.

Conservationist and Tiong Bahru resident Kelvin Wang, who helped coordinate the initiative, said he and his neighbours were frustrated that the good efforts by those who recycled at the blue bins were undone by litterbugs.

“At the end of the day, we hope residents can recycle intentionally,” said Mr Wang, 54.

After the intensive education exercise, the residents hope to have permanent sorting bins installed around the estate.

“It’s our reputation as Singaporeans. We are a clean country and we should have clean habits. I hope we can perpetuate this value to all who live in this neighbourhood and in this country,” said Mr Wang.