Cora Environment commits $200m to boost waste recovery, recycling in Singapore

One of Singapore's three public waste collectors, Cora Environment, will invest $200 million into improving its capabilities of recycling and extracting resources from waste.

- Ang Qing

The business, formerly known as Sembcorp Environment and SembWaste, announced the plan to invest the sum over five years as part of its official rebranding, a shift reflected by the progressive transformation of its waste collection trucks trading Sembcorp's white livery for Cora Environment's green.

Speaking at the launch on Sept 11, Cora Environment chief executive Lee Kok Kin said: "We believe waste is not an end point, but a beginning, a resource with untapped potential waiting to be transformed into value we want to recover, or the Fourth R, as we call it."

The firm is looking to channel the sum into up to 10 pilot projects, which will include transforming ash from incinerated waste into a sand substitute for land reclamation and concrete.

Cora Environment currently collects waste and recyclables from 450,000 households and trade premises in the City-Punggol and Clementi-Bukit Merah sectors under the National Environment Agency's (NEA) Public Waste Collection Scheme.

The sum will also drive the launch of a digital platform in October for commercial customers to get real-time data about the profile of their waste and recyclables, Mr Lee told The Straits Times.

Mr Lee, who previously headed SembWaste, said the firm aims to go beyond transporting waste, by offering solutions that enable an ecosystem where waste can be sustainably managed.