Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Progress on Waste to Landfill and Solar Energy Deployment

Question:

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether Singapore is on track to meet the targets under the Singapore Green Plan 2030 to (i) reduce the amount of waste to landfill per capita per day by 20% by 2026 and (ii) reach 1.5 gigawatt-peak of solar energy deployment to meet 2 per cent of 2025 projected electricity demands; and (b) what is the current amount of (i) waste to landfill per capita per day and (ii) electricity demands met by solar energy deployment.

Answer:

1 Under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, we had set targets to reduce the amount of waste sent to Semakau Landfill by 20 per cent by 2026, and 30 per cent by 2030, on a per capita per day basis, from our baseline in 2018.

2 While our domestic waste generated per capita and non-domestic waste generated per dollar Gross Domestic Product have decreased over the past decade, our waste-to-landfill per capita per day remains about the same as the pre-pandemic baseline in 2018. This is largely because recycling rates have dropped due to challenges such as higher freight costs, import restrictions imposed by foreign countries and lower demand for recycled materials.

3 We will continue to strengthen our efforts and work with stakeholders to reduce waste, close the waste loop, and extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill. These include working with the industry to roll out the beverage container return scheme in 2026 and exploring the use of landfilled mixed materials as reclamation fill.

4 On solar energy, we are on track to meeting our 2025 target of 1.5 gigawatt-peak of deployment. As of June 2024, we have achieved 1.35 gigawatt-peak of deployment, which can meet around 2 per cent of Singapore’s annual electricity demand.