S'pore creating digital 'passport' to track plastics for recycling

Singapore is creating what is said to be a world-first digital "passport" for plastics to boost recycling as its sole landfill in Semakau is running out of space in 10 years.

- Irene Tham

The digital passport system tags plastic at a molecular level to track its provenance and recycling. The records are written on a blockchain, allowing the irrefutable passport data about the plastic's origin, composition, reuse cycles and disposal to be exchanged among plastic manufacturers, recycling firms and the authorities for auditing purposes.

The multi-year effort is being led by A*Star, in partnership with Nasdaq-listed Security Matters.

Other materials earmarked for recycling using the same technology include metals and rubber.

"This is not just a plastics project," Professor Lim Keng Hui, A*Star's assistant chief executive of the Science and Engineering Research Council, told The Straits Times.

Through their initiative, A*Star and Security Matters hope to lift recycling rates here and reduce the amount of waste sent to the Semakau landfill, in line with Singapore's Zero Waste Masterplan.

In 2024, Singapore's domestic recycling rate fell to a historic low of 11 per cent, which is poor by developed world standards, due to high contamination rates and poor waste economics management. Japan, for instance, has a higher domestic waste recycling rate at 20 per cent.

Waste economics involves examining the cost and revenue potential of recycling.

Singapore incinerates most of its waste, including plastic. At present, about 2,000 tonnes of incineration ash and non-incinerable waste are sent to Semakau daily.

Under the Zero Waste Masterplan, the Republic aims to achieve an overall recycling rate - including industrial and commercial waste - of 70 per cent by 2030, from a low of 50 per cent in 2024.