Johor dumping: NEA issues advisory to construction waste facilities, says waste cannot be exported for disposal

In response to CNA’s queries on Tuesday (Aug 18) night, NEA said that it recently reached out to SWCorp Johor to obtain more information regarding construction and demolition waste reportedly originating from Singapore being disposed of in Pontian, Johor. 

“During the call with SWCorp, NEA affirmed that Singapore does not allow C&D waste to be exported for disposal,” said NEA, referring to construction and demolition waste.

“Under Singapore’s regulatory framework, C&D waste must be properly processed and sorted locally for recycling.”

However, “homogenous material streams” such as ferrous scrap recovered from such waste are considered recyclables and can be exported, subject to the relevant regulatory requirements, it added. 

Both Malaysia and Singapore are parties to the Basel Convention, an international treaty that regulates the transboundary movements of hazardous and other waste and obliges countries to ensure that such waste is managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.