Punggol residents can put unwashed PET bottles for collection under pilot to boost recycling

17 Dec 2022

SP and waste management company SembWaste have launched a pilot to triple recycling rates to about 18,000 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and lower Punggol Coral estate’s contamination rate by at least 10% by the end of three months. Collection points have been deployed at 10 HDB blocks within the Punggol Coral estate, Prime and Ang Mo Supermarkets in Punggol Shore and Sheng Siong’s outlet in Punggol Central. The design and deployment of these collection points in the initiative called ‘Rebottle’ was jointly developed by students from SP’s School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE) and Media, Arts & Design (MAD) School. Quoted in the article was Year 2 MAD student Aishah Binte Mohamad Kusnan, who shared that the lack of knowledge about recycling, being unable to differentiate between the various bins and seeing washing bottles as a hassle were common reasons cited by residents for being reluctant to recycle. Also quoted was Year 3 computer engineering student Peh Jun Xiang, who explained that each roller cage is designed to withstand the weight of bottles containing liquids should people forget to empty them. Similar news reported in Lianhe Zaobao and 8world.