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Get paid for recycling with new doorstep collection service

This article is more than 12 months old

No one likes lugging bags of recyclables down to the bins but that chore is about to get easier thanks to a new scheme.

A doorstep collection service has been set up for people living in certain Woodlands estates as part of a pilot programme by SembCorp Industries to make recycling more convenient.

Households with postal codes starting with 73 can now book a collection date and time for recyclables through SembCorp's ezi mobile application, which was launched yesterday. There are two collection dates a month for every postal code and three to five time slots for each date.

Someone must be at the apartment for the collection.

Residents will also be paid for their recycling efforts - 10 cents a kilo for paper products such as newspapers, magazines and cartons and household items made of metal, 20 cents a kilo for clothing and 50 cents a kilo for aluminium cans.

Payment is made within two weeks of a collection.

There is no payment for plastic items like detergent bottles.

Residents are encouraged to accumulate at least 5kg before booking a collection and should clean and dry the items.

SembCorp plans to roll out the service to other residential zones by the end of next year.

Madam Lee Choon Hong, 65, lives at Block 671 Woodlands Drive 71, one of those eligible for the doorstep collection.

She said: "I don't think it's inconvenient to take the recyclables downstairs, but at least this app allows me to recycle clothing."

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, said the ezi app shows how organisations can work together to undertake collective action for the environment. 

Environment