The potential of large-scale urban waste recycling: A case study of the national recycling programme in Singapore

Abstract

The increasing amount of municipal solid waste is a perennial challenge for authorities, and recycling is seen as one of the key strategies to alleviate this problem. Earlier literature has focused on the factors that influence the success (or failure) of urban recycling schemes with much work focusing on how the attitudes of households and consumers make or break recycling programs. However, an ambitious national level recycling program is rarely documented. Using the case study of the Singapore National Recycling Programme, I argue that institutional support and infrastructural competence are crucial to the successful implementation of a large-scale urban waste recycling program. Nonetheless, it is also noted that a resilient program needs to accommodate more community-level initiatives and greater, unambiguous emphasis on the environmental justifications for recycling. The Singapore experience demonstrates that technocratic accomplishment in planning is a necessary but insufficient condition for the long-term success of a large-scale recycling program. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.