The decision, which was announced by Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resource, is part of the country’s commitment to achieving a 70 per cent recycling rate by 2030 and improving its waste collection infrastructure.

There are currently over 100 private residential developments in Singapore connected to PWCS, many of which are Envac, including public housing developments in Punggol, Woodlands, Bidadari, Sengkang, Toa Payoh and Tengah.

The country’s Housing & Development Board (HDB) has also implemented PWCS in a retrofitting project for an existing housing estate at Yuhua, Jurong, as part of its Greenprint Programme – a comprehensive and integrated framework of goals and strategies to guide greener town development and create sustainable homes.

On the announcement, Jeffrey Seow, General Manager at Envac Singapore, comments: “We applaud Singapore for taking this progressive approach and are delighted with the outcome; not solely because the decision is likely to make Envac’s solution even more commonplace amongst Singaporean communities, but because it is a sensible step towards making residential dwellings greener, cleaner and safer. Singapore has now set a very high global standard and I would urge countries around the world to consider a similar approach in order to future proof the waste infrastructure of their cities and improve the day-to-day lives of those who live and work within them.”

Singapore has also mandated the inclusion of manual dual chutes for refuse and recycling in new non-landed private residential developments taller than four storeys.

Joakim Karlsson, Chief Executive at Envac AB, adds: “The more our planet’s population increases, particularly in densely populated areas such as Singapore, the clearer it becomes that traditional bins and the out-dated infrastructure required to service them is no longer suitable. Pneumatic waste conveyance systems address many of the issues that conventional waste collection methods simply do not. The technology is sustainable, discreet and operationally much more cost efficient. We believe that PWCS is an essential tool in reaching ambitious recycling targets and we wish Singapore the very best in reaching theirs.”