Waste Management

There are different types of waste generated by offices and they need to be properly segregated, collected and taken care of to minimize their impact on health and environment: electronic waste, paper/ plastic/ glass/ metal waste, hazardous waste, food waste, etc. 

It is essential to know what you can monitor and improve, to better manage your waste.

Choose from specialised suppliers what is most suitable for your company.

In Singapore, we dispose of 8,284,000 kg of waste a day. It is a 7 fold increase over the past 45 years. Our only landfill, Semakau Island, will run out of space by 2035. (Source: Zero Waste SG)

Learn more about Waste Management in Singapore.

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Measure & Monitor
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If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it!

Measuring your waste is a key step for a green office.

  • Implement a procedure to measure the most relevant waste streams (general waste and recyclables) per floor or per department. The measure of recyclables can be broken down per type of recyclables such as paper, e-waste, plastic...
  • Set annually waste reduction targets to continuously improve.

Learn more here to start a recycling program in your office or browse Page 14 onwards in the Singapore NEA 3R Guidebook for Offices.

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Conduct a Waste Audit
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Conduct a waste audit. The audit can be conducted by internal staff or by an external professional.

The goals of the audit are:

  • Quantify and qualify the different waste streams
  • Assess the waste management infrastructures and practices
  • Submit a series of recommendations to reduce waste, improve reuse and recycling, and reduce costs.
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Improve Waste Equipment
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Adopt a centralized bin system. This includes:

  • Removing all individual desk bin
  • Installing a set of bin stations including at minimum 1 general waste bin, 1 recycling bin, and 1 paper bin. The combination of bins depends on the types of waste generated in the office
  • Installing 1 paper bin next to each printer

Ensure consistency in the selection of bins and communication tools (same colour, visible name and with a symbol).

Make sure that the cleaning services and the contractor are aware of the waste management requirements. More details here.  

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Train all stakeholders
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They are 3 parties involved here to train:

1- Office staff - which must know how to segregate their trash

2- Cleaning company - which must maintain the segregation from the bins to the collector.

3- Waste collector - which must maintain the segregation from the 2 above up to the Material Recovery Facility.

  • Provide them clear information and guidance
  • Train them on a regular basis
  • Design the trainings with a specialist

For your office staff, train them for waste management at your office but also at their home. Start with helping them understand what is recyclable or not.

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Select appropriate waste contractors (e-waste)
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Contract with appropriate servicers for the collection of e-waste & hazardous waste.

In case e-waste management falls under your building management's responsibility, talk with your building manager to ensure collection is properly done.

Under the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) on e-waste, suppliers of electronic goods have to take back and send old products to licensed recyclers.

You have personal e-waste to discard? Here is a list of all collection points available in Singapore.

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Select appropriate waste contractors (paper)
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Contract with appropriate servicers for the collection of paper waste.

In case paper waste management falls under your building management's responsibility, talk with your building manager to ensure collection is properly done.

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Select appropriate waste contractors (others)
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Contract with appropriate services for the collection of:

  • General waste
  • Paper waste
  • Recyclable waste (plastic, glass, aluminium...)
  • Specific waste (e-waste, hazardous waste...)

In case waste management falls under your building management's responsibility, talk with your building manager to ensure collection is properly done.
At least, select proper collectors for paper and e-waste for your office and install dedicated bins.

Under the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) on e-waste, suppliers of electronic goods have to take back and send old products to licensed recyclers.

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Conduct Regular Monitoring of Waste Management
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Monitor results, correct wrong practices, set higher targets annually. Ask the help of a professional if need be. Find out more here.

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Buddies - Experience sharing

The « sustainability journey » may feel overwhelming sometimes, but you are not alone.

Our Buddies have tried, succeeded, failed to implement change in their companies. They share their experience so you can learn, take shortcuts, get inspired and ask questions.

Everybody can become a Buddy and give back to the community; if you are keen, get in touch with us.

Rémi Cesaro
Founder & Director - Zero Waste City

Founder and Director of the consulting business Zero Waste City, Rémi provides engineering consulting services to large commercial and industrial facilities on waste management, energy efficiency, and packaging design.

He has gained a strong experience as a consultant covering a wide range of industries and technologies in New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.

He is a certified TRUE Advisor (Total Resource Use Efficiency) by the U.S. Green Building Council Inc. This certification recognised his knowledge in Zero Waste programs and his ability to support businesses to achieve the TRUE Zero Waste certification.

Andrew Tay
Business Development Director - KGS

I started my career as a mechanical engineer for 5 years and joined TayPaper Recycling in 2018. Tay Paper Recycling has grown from an informal scrap dealer to now a leading paper focused recycling company in Singapore. On top of just recycling, we also offer confidential data disposal services to help clients comply with PDPA, GDPR and recycle at the same time. I am now working at KGS, an e-waste and data sanitization company.

Package Pals Trio
Founders – Package Pals

Package Pals is a circular packaging initiative that seeks to extend the life cycle of packaging. We collect used e-commerce packaging from members of the public, distributing it back to businesses seeking eco-friendly, second hand packaging options. There are 7 categories of packaging we collect: poly mailers (<A4),paper envelopes (<A4), plastic wrappers (<A4), bubble wrap, padded envelopes.

Package Pals has worked with multiple large and small businesses, schools, NGOs and governmental organisations since it was started in May 2020. Other than carrying out collection and distribution, we also focus on education and outreach, seeking to educate our 4k-strong audience on packaging waste and other environmental issues, through social media, webinars and other events.

Yen Lyng Loh
Marketing & Sales Director - A1 Environment

Coming from a background of digital media, film-making, and digital marketing, Yen-Lyng fell into the sustainability field when she joined a waste management company as a Recycling Ambassador. During that time, she saw the many intricacies and challenges facing the very overlooked and underappreciated world of waste. So, when given the opportunity of working on a coffee recycling project, Yen-Lyng jumped at it. She will tell you more about her why and what of coffee recycling in her sharing and the challenges of lauching sustainable projects.

Thibaut Meurgue
Co-founder – The Transmutation Principle

I am Thibaut, French bald since 26 & bold since forever! Right now, I am a 1st time entrepreneur in the making. 

I come from an IT & software agency background so deeply into B2B and old-fashioned processes. I came to realize that sustainability cannot be only about consumers and half-measures. I also realized IT Sustainability was much underrated and not understood by most companies. It came quite as a surprise for me since I always considered IT Sustainability as one of the best ways to merge both ROI & Sustainability to make the latter sound acceptable, actionable, and realistic. Having seen that, I wanted to make a change in my own way. 

My dedication came from the desire to be able to look my future kids in the eye and tell them that I tried to make the world a better place. 

I am also drawn to uncommon & less popular causes, which is why e-waste caught my attention. While it’s not as “buzzy” as plastic waste or consumer recycling, it has the potential to have a greater impact, especially in Asia.

Li Seng Heng
Founder - Green Nudge, Green Collar

Li Seng is the founder of Green Nudge, a social enterprise that supports businesses and communities to achieve positive environmental impact through activities such as coastal cleanups and workshops, outreach talks and sustainability consulting. By raising awareness and co-creating call-to-actions with various stakeholders on sustainability efforts, Green Nudge aims to create a normative shift in the way we create and deal with waste to achieve a low carbon, zero waste future for Singapore.

Li Seng’s previous experience in the public sector in the central bank of Singapore dealing with financial regulations, combined with his current roles in the community and social enterprise sector reinforced his belief that effective public policies need to be supported by ground-up actions and engagement. Playing an interfacing role within the tri-sector, Li Seng is able to provide sectoral knowledge through a system thinking lens to make informed decisions and strategies. He is happy to discuss disposables, sustainability of events, public education, and is familiar with corporate social responsibility and community / youth engagement.

Loretta Teo & Eliza Boecker
Asia CSR Team - Azqore

A lawyer by training, Eliza has been in Private banking since 1996, with roles ranging from Relationship Management to Head of Strategy for PWM Latin America at Deutsche Bank New York, and a member of the Management Committee. Eliza was also the Business Manager and Head of Business Compliance for the International markets at Bank of Singapore, before joining Azqore as COO for Asia. Eliza has worked in Kuala Lumpur, Frankfurt, New York and Singapore and in addition lived in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, an experience that has shaped her outlook and made her very much a global citizen.

A banking operations professional, Loretta has had experience across various firms, like UBS and Nomura, before joining Credit Agricole 5 years ago.  Currently Azqore’s Head of Asia Operations, she has worked in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and even had a short stint in India.  These experiences have opened her eyes to various cultures and cuisines.  

Both Eliza and Loretta kicked off the Azqore Asia CSR initiative in 2020 and have never looked back since.

Alya Annabi
Sustainability Change Agent & Founder - GreenPush

Alya is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, Positive Mentor, and engaging Public Speaker driven by her mission to empower change-makers to take action with a 'Positive Push.'

As the founder of Green Push, she works with companies to engage employees in sustainability through customised programmes that inspire positive change. At her core, Alya is a natural people connector and community builder, dedicated to creating spaces where individuals can collaborate and amplify their collective impact.

Through her mentoring, Alya offers actionable insights and encouragement to aspiring changemakers, guiding them to turn their ideas into real-world impact. As a public speaker, her keynotes can explore topics like Climate Action, Impact Entrepreneurship, and Climate Optimism, inspiring others to make a difference.

Alya is also an Earth shot Prize Official Nominator for 2025 - if you have an inspiring, inclusive, and impactful solution, feel free to get in touch!

Nadège Claudel
Head of Sustainability APAC - Chanel (Former General Manager - BSI - British Standards Institution)

Before joining Chanel, I was General Manager of BSI Singapore for 2.5 years. Prior to joining BSI, I held different job assignments for the international retailer Carrefour. For them, I oversaw Quality, Food Safety and Sustainability in China and then at the Group level.  

I spent most of my career working in Asia: in Shanghai, Hong Kong and I have been happily settled in Singapore for 8 years now. 

I have a real passion for sustainability and nature conservation and I love to share the knowledge and experience I gained in this field. I am also a volunteer for the Singaporean NGO called Climate Conversation which aims to raise awareness on climate change.

Duncan Craig
Co-founder & Design Director - reXtore

Duncan, originally from the UK, has been living & working in Asia for the last 16 years. He runs a creative interior design & project management company delivering projects across the Asia Pacific Region; specialised in retail, F&B and commercial sectors. Duncan is passionate about creating interiors that excite and engage Clients and Customers alike, all through the lens of sustainability.

Virgile Viasnoff
Professor, Mechanobiology – NUS, CNRS

Virgile is an academic researcher who works for the CNRS (France) and the National University of Singapore. He heads an international collaborative lab between Singapore and France at the mechanobiology institute.

He is also in charge of the transition towards more sustainable practices in the lab and in the institute. He has already implemented various actions covering energy efficiency, consumables usage reduction, waste management...

Naomi Vowels
Director - givvable

I am Naomi, currently co-founder & director of givvable. I started my career as an Australian diplomat with postings in East Timor, Thailand and Switzerland then moved into private banking where my interest in ESG and sustainability was seeded.

Today my company helps businesses screen and track the sustainability profile of their suppliers to help them achieve their goals and targets.

Elly Both
Founder - Bright Green

I run a business called Bright Green where I work with corporates to engage employees in impact projects in the areas of environmental and social impact. I also facilitate sustainability learning programs to educate employees on developing an eco-friendly mindset and high impact actions they can take in their homes and daily lives.

Before founding Bright Green in 2020, I have been working in Project Management, Change Management and Continuous Improvement roles within Human Resources and Recruitment. I love that I get to work with organisations that are making commitments to net-zero and inspire employees to make an impact!