Regulation 1
Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations.
/akn/sg/act/sub_leg/1987/EPHA-RG12
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Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations is Singapore Subsidiary Legislation, cited as Subsidiary Legislation EPHA-RG12 1987, currently marked in force and first recorded in 1987.
Part I
Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations.
Definitions
In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Central Provident Fund” means the fund that is established under section 6 of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953;
“code of practice” means the code of practice issued by the Director-General and applicable to every general waste collector;
“general waste” means —
refuse or industrial waste, excluding any toxic industrial waste specified in the Schedule to the Environmental Public Health (Toxic Industrial Waste) Regulations (Rg 11);
waste from grease interceptors;
waste from sewerage systems, including waste from sewage treatment plants, septic tanks and water-seal latrines;
waste from sanitary conveniences not part of a sewerage system, including waste from sanitary conveniences which are mobile or in ships or aircraft;
dangerous substances that have been treated and rendered harmless and safe for disposal; (f)toxic industrial waste that has been treated and rendered harmless and safe for disposal; and
recyclable waste;
“incinerable waste” means any general waste that is suitable to be destroyed, rendered inert or reduced to ash through a process of controlled, high temperature combustion without causing damage to, or disrupting the operation of, the refuse incineration plant in which the process is carried out, but does not include recyclable waste and waste specified in the Third Schedule;
“licensee” means any person or company licensed under these Regulations to collect and transport general waste to a disposal facility;
“non-incinerable waste” means —
any recyclable waste;
any waste specified in the Third Schedule; or
any general waste that is not incinerable waste;
“recyclable waste” means any general waste that is capable of being recycled, and includes —
any recyclable; and
any refuse or waste specified in the Fourth Schedule;
“resident waste collection worker” means a waste collection worker who is a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore;
“residential property” means —
any house, building or other premises or any part thereof which is permitted to be used under the Planning Act 1998 or any written law as a dwelling-house or which is lawfully so used; or
any land zoned in the Master Plan for solely residential purposes or for mixed purposes, one of which shall be residential;
“salary period”, in relation to a waste collection worker, means a period of time, that is, one hour, one day, one week, one month or any other period, that may be stated or implied in the contract of service between the waste collection worker and a licensee, in respect of which the waste collection worker is entitled to be paid for working;
“section 31DA Order (waste collection workers)” means an order made by the Commissioner for Labour under section 31DA(1) of the Act in respect of waste collection workers.
The refuse, waste or material specified in the First Schedule are prescribed for the purpose of the definition of “recyclable” in section 2 of the Act.
Components of “baseline wage”
For the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c)(iv) of the definition of “baseline wage” (as defined in section 2 of the Act), a baseline wage in relation to a waste collection worker —
includes —
any commission, allowance and any other cash payment that is payable to the waste collection worker and is attributable to his work for a salary period, or a completed piece or task of work; and
any amount that is payable by a licensee into the Central Provident Fund as a contribution under section 7(1) of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953 in respect of the waste collection worker, which is recoverable by the licensee under section 7(2) of that Act; and
excludes —
any payment in kind (including the grant of stock options) or lump sum payment that is payable to the waste collection worker, but is not attributable to the waste collection worker’s work for a salary period, or a completed piece or task of work; and
any amount that is payable by a licensee into the Central Provident Fund as a contribution under section 7(1) of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953 in respect of the waste collection worker, which is not recoverable by the licensee under section 7(2) of that Act.
Components of “progressive wage model bonus”
For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of “progressive wage model bonus” (as defined in section 2 of the Act), a progressive wage model bonus in relation to a waste collection worker includes any additional payment by a licensee to the waste collection worker by way of bonus payments or annual wage supplements.
Part V
Records on collection service for general waste
A licensee shall keep and maintain proper records on the collection service for general waste rendered by him which shall include the following:
place of collection of general waste;
frequency of collection;
place of disposal;
type and tonnage of general waste collected and disposed of;
the vehicle used for collection; and
type and quantity of receptacles for the deposit of recyclables.
A licensee shall make available on demand the records for inspection by any authorised officer.
[Deleted by S 460/2023 wef 01/07/2023]
Employment of licensee
Any person who produces incinerable waste or non‑incinerable waste must engage to dispose of such waste only a person who is licensed to collect and transport such waste for disposal in accordance with regulation 17(1) and (2).
[Deleted by S 460/2023 wef 01/07/2023]
Penalty
Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $500 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
Application for licence
An application for the grant or renewal of a general waste collector’s licence must, where the applicant employs any resident waste collection worker, be accompanied by a progressive wage plan that complies with the requirements in paragraph (3).
Every applicant must provide, in such form as the Director‑General may require —
the following particulars of the applicant:
the applicant’s full name;
the address of the applicant’s registered office or place of business;
the applicant’s telephone number and email address;
the following particulars of each worker employed by the applicant to carry out general waste collection, including any driver or crew member of a vehicle owned or used by the applicant for general waste collection:
the worker’s full name and nationality;
the worker’s identification number or work permit number;
the worker’s Workforce Skills Qualifications certificate number;
the following details of each vehicle owned or used by the applicant for the collection and transportation of general waste from a collection point to a disposal facility:
the vehicle registration number;
the type of waste that may be carried in the vehicle;
the following details of any equipment owned or used by the applicant for the purposes of general waste collection:
the total number of hook‑lift systems;
for each hook‑lift system, the inspection report issued by a workshop accredited by the Singapore Accreditation Council;
the total number of compactors and open‑top containers;
for each compactor or open‑top container, the inspection report issued by a workshop accredited by the Singapore Accreditation Council;
the address and telephone number of the yard or depot at which the vehicles and equipment mentioned in sub‑paragraphs (c) and (d) are kept;
the following information on the general waste to be collected:
the types and quantities of general waste;
the disposal facilities (including recycling facilities) to which the general waste will be transported; and
any other information that the Director‑General may require in any particular case.
For the purposes of paragraph (1), the progressive wage plan must contain and be accompanied by all of the following information and documents in respect of every resident waste collection worker that the applicant employs who belongs to the class or a class of waste collection workers specified in the section 31DA Order (waste collection workers):
full name;
sex;
job title;
nationality;
whether the resident waste collection worker is a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore;
identification number;
the date on which the employment of the resident waste collection worker by the applicant commenced;
whether the resident waste collection worker is engaged as a full-time employee, part-time employee or casual employee;
the aggregate number of hours that the resident waste collection worker is required to work per week under his contract of service with the applicant;
the baseline wage payable to the resident waste collection worker under his contract of service with the applicant;
the manner of calculating the overtime payment payable to the resident waste collection worker;
the amount of progressive wage model bonus that is payable to the resident waste collection worker, and the frequency at which the progressive wage model bonus is to be paid; (m)the training records of the resident waste collection worker, that set out the training courses that the resident waste collection worker has attended, and the frequency of such attendance; (n)a copy of every Workforce Skills Qualification certificate that is issued to the resident waste collection worker;
where the application is for a renewal of a general waste collector’s licence —
the amount of every progressive wage model bonus that was paid to the resident waste collection worker in the calendar year preceding the date on which the application is made and the date of such payment;
the number of hours that the resident waste collection worker has worked overtime in the month preceding the date on which the application is made, the total amount paid to the resident waste collection worker as overtime pay for work done in those hours and the rate at which the overtime pay is calculated; and
the amount of the baseline wage that was paid to the resident waste collection worker for the month preceding the date on which the application is made.
In this regulation, “identification number” means —
in the case of an individual who is a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore and who has been issued with an identity card under the National Registration Act 1965, his Singapore identity card number (including the letters that form the prefix and suffix to the identity card number); or
in the case of any other individual, the country that issued his passport followed by his passport number.
Fee for licence
The licensee shall pay an annual licence fee of $195 except that where the licensee is a licensed toxic industrial waste collector under the Environmental Public Health (Toxic Industrial Waste) Regulations (Rg 11) he shall be exempted from payment of the licence fee.
Factors determining granting of licence
The Director-General, in determining whether to grant or renew or refuse to grant or renew a general waste collector’s licence, shall generally have regard to —
the suitability of the types of collection vehicles in use or intended to be used for the collection and transportation of general waste from the collection point to the disposal facility; (b)the financial standing of the applicant and his ability to maintain an adequate, satisfactory, safe, hygienic and efficient collection service for general waste; (c)the competency of the applicant’s workers to operate the vehicles and equipment mentioned in regulation 4(2)(c) and (d) in a safe manner, including by using suitable personal protective equipment;
whether the progressive wage plan complies with the requirements in regulation 4(3); (e)whether such proportion of the waste collection workers that the applicant employs have attended such training and at such frequency as the Director-General may specify; and
where the application is for the renewal of a general waste collector’s licence, whether the applicant had complied with the licence conditions of the general waste collector’s licence that is the subject of the application, including the licence conditions in regulation 7AA.
Conditions of general waste collector’s licence
For the purposes of section 31AA(1) of the Act, the following conditions are imposed on every licensee:
the licensee must enter into a contract of service in writing with each waste collection worker employed by the licensee;
every contract of service entered into between the licensee and every resident waste collection worker must provide for the payment of a baseline wage, a progressive wage model bonus and an overtime payment to the resident waste collection worker, that —
is not less than the minimum amount of baseline wage, minimum amount of progressive wage model bonus and minimum amount of overtime payment, respectively; and
in the case of a progressive wage model bonus, is at the frequency,specified by the section 31DA Order (waste collection workers) for the class of waste collection workers to which the resident waste collection worker belongs;
the licensee must ensure that every waste collection worker employed by the licensee satisfies the training requirements as may be specified by the Director-General for the class of waste collection workers to which the waste collection worker belongs;
the licensee must not deploy any individual who is not employed by the licensee to carry out any waste collection work, unless the individual is a waste collection worker employed by another licensee;
the licensee must keep the records, accounts or documents specified in paragraph (2) for the period of retention specified in paragraph (3).
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e), the records, accounts or documents are —
the accounts of the licensee’s business or activities that the licensee is authorised to carry out under the licensee’s general waste collector’s licence;
a copy of the contract of service between the licensee and every waste collection worker —
who is in the licensee’s employ as at the date of the licensee’s application for the grant or renewal of the licensee’s general waste collector’s licence; or
who is employed by the licensee after that date,including any amendment, variation or addition to the contract of service;
the detailed job description of every waste collection worker;
the pay records of every waste collection worker the licensee employs in respect of payments to the waste collection worker on or after 1 July 2023, including a breakdown of the baseline wage, progressive wage model bonus and overtime payment paid to the waste collection worker; (e)the records of every amount that is paid by the licensee into the Central Provident Fund in respect of every waste collection worker under section 7(1) of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953, which is recoverable by the licensee under section 7(2) of that Act; and
the records of the training that every waste collection worker has attended on or after 1 July 2023.
The period of retention mentioned in paragraph (1)(e) is —
in the case of the accounts specified in paragraph (2)(a) — 4 years after the end of the period to which the accounts relate;
in the case of the contract of service specified in paragraph (2)(b), the detailed job description specified in paragraph (2)(c) and the records specified in paragraph (2)(f) — 4 years after the end of the employment of the waste collection worker to whom that contract of service, job description and records relate; and
in the case of the records specified in paragraph (2)(d) and (e) — 4 years after the date on which the payment concerned was made.
Collection of recyclable waste for recycling
No licensee shall collect any recyclable waste for recycling from any premises unless the licensee is a holder of a permit issued under regulation 7B.
In this regulation, “premises” means any premises designated by the Director-General in any area under section 8(2) of the Act.
Application for permit for collection of recyclable waste for recycling
Every application for a permit to collect recyclable waste for recycling shall be made to the Director-General in such form as the Director-General may determine.
The Director-General may, if he thinks fit, issue a permit to any person who makes an application under paragraph (1).
A permit issued under paragraph (2) —
shall specify the areas within which a permit holder may operate; and
may contain such conditions on the permit holder as the Director-General may impose.
Transportation of general wastes under Class A
Transportation of general waste listed under Class A in the Second Schedule shall be by skip container trucks, open lorries with crane or tipper or such other vehicle as may be permitted by the Director-General.
Transportation of general wastes under Class B and Class B.1
General waste listed under Class B in the Second Schedule must be transported by compaction vehicles, roll‑off compactors or such other vehicles as may be permitted by the Director‑General.
General waste listed under Class B.1 in the Second Schedule must be transported —
in intermediate bulk containers on open lorries; or
in such other storage equipment, or by such other vehicles, as may be permitted by the Director‑General.
Transportation of general wastes under Class C and Class D
Transportation of general waste listed under Class C and Class D in the Second Schedule shall be by tanker trucks or such other vehicles as may be permitted by the Director-General.
Display of hazard warning label
Where any Class D waste is being transported in a tanker truck or other vehicle, the licensee shall ensure that such appropriate hazard warning label as specified by the Director-General in the code of practice is displayed on the windscreen of the tanker truck or vehicle.
Type of vehicle used may be specified by Director-General
The Director-General may require a licensee to use or cease to use a specific vehicle for the collection and transportation of general waste.
Labelling of vehicles and equipment
A licensee must label all vehicles and equipment owned or used by the licensee for the collection and transportation of general waste.
For the purposes of paragraph (1), every container or mobile compactor must be labelled on the 2 opposite sides of the container or compactor (as the case may be) that form the length of the container or compactor, as the case may be.
Every label —
must conform to the dimensions and any other requirements specified in the code of practice;
must be painted onto or securely attached to the vehicle or equipment;
must not be obstructed from view; and
must be kept clean on the surface.
Cleansing and maintenance of vehicles and equipment used for collection of general waste
A licensee shall ensure that his vehicles and equipment used for the collection of general waste are cleansed at the end of each work shift and maintained in good working condition.
Cleansing and maintenance of general waste collection points
A licensee shall ensure that any general waste collection point under his charge is cleansed and maintained daily to be free from odours, stains, flies, vermin and rodents.
A licensee shall ensure that the general waste or liquid from such waste is not dropped, scattered or spilled onto any public place.
Disposal of wastes at disposal facility
No licensee shall dispose of or cause or permit to be disposed of any general waste in any place except at a disposal facility.
Disposal of recyclable waste, incinerable waste and non‑incinerable waste
Subject to paragraphs (1A), (1B) and (1C), a licensee must transport all incinerable waste to either of the following for disposal:
a refuse incineration plant;
a disposal facility specified by the Director‑General under paragraph (4).
Where any incinerable waste exceeds the dimensions specified in paragraph (1B), the incinerable waste must be dismantled or broken down into smaller pieces before it may be transported by the licensee for disposal under paragraph (1).
For the purposes of paragraph (1A), the dimensions are —
where the incinerable waste is a solid object — 0.6 metre in length, 0.6 metre in width or 0.1 metre in thickness; or
where the incinerable waste is a hollow object — 0.6 metre in length, width or thickness.
A licensee must not dispose of, or cause or permit to be disposed of, any waste specified in the Fifth Schedule at a refuse incineration plant or landfill, unless with the consent of the Director-General.
Subject to paragraph (2AA), a licensee must transport all non‑incinerable waste (except recyclable waste) to a landfill for final disposal.
Where any non-incinerable waste mentioned in paragraph (2) exceeds 2 metres in length, 2 metres in width or 0.1 metre in thickness, the non-incinerable waste must be dismantled or broken down into smaller pieces before it may be transported by the licensee for final disposal under paragraph (2).
A licensee must transport all recyclable waste to a recycling facility.
The Director-General may require a licensee to re-organise his waste collection trips or take such other measures needed to eliminate or minimise the mixing of recyclable waste, incinerable waste and non‑incinerable waste.
The Director-General may specify the particular disposal facility for any load of general waste conveyed by a licensee.
Disposal of recyclable waste for recycling
A holder of a permit issued under regulation 7B shall transport all recyclable waste collected by him for recycling to any recycling facility.
Any person who collects recyclables that have been deposited in any receptacle —
referred to in section 10(1)(c) of the Act; or
provided in any residential property for the purpose of recycling,shall transport such recyclables to a recycling facility.
Categories of recyclables
FIRST SCHEDULERegulation 2(2)Categories of recyclablesRecyclablesExamples1.Paper productsNewspapers and magazines, writing paper, envelopes, car park coupons, brochures or pamphlets, books, cardboard and paper packaging (such as cereal boxes and drink cartons) and other paper products, but excluding tissue paper and paper food wrappers.2.Metal productsCans or containers made of metal such as drink cans, milk powder tins and food cans.3.Plastic productsBottles or containers made of plastic such as detergent containers, milk containers, mineral water bottles, soft drink bottles, juice bottles, plastic bags, plastic packaging and other plastic products, but excluding styrofoam.4.Glass productsJars and bottles, but excluding light bulbs, window glass and fish tanks.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016]
Classes of General Wastes
SECOND SCHEDULERegulations 8, 9 and 10Classes of General WastesClass A(1) Waste such as unwanted furniture, electrical appliances, construction and renovation debris, matter settled out of ballast water in a ship and cut tree trunks and branches.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016][S 460/2023 wef 01/07/2023](2) Bulky waste.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016](3) Non‑putrefiable waste.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016](4) Recyclable waste (excluding food waste).[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016]Class B(1) Domestic refuse, food waste (excluding used cooking oil) and market waste.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016](2) Waste with a high organic content and which is putrefiable.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016]Class B.1(1) Used cooking oil.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016]Class C(1) Sludge and other waste from grease interceptors.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016](2) Sewage, sludge and other waste from water-seal latrines, sewage treatment plants, septic tanks or other types of sewerage systems.[S 585/2016 wef 01/12/2016](3) Waste from sanitary conveniences not part of a sewerage system, including waste from sanitary conveniences which are mobile or in ships or aircraft.Class D(1) Dangerous substances that have been treated and rendered harmless and safe for disposal.(2) Toxic industrial waste that has been treated and rendered harmless and safe for disposal. [S 562/2008 wef 01/11/2008][G.N. Nos. S116/89; S105/95; S 537/99]
Waste not to be disposed without consent of Director-General
FIFTH SCHEDULERegulation 17(1C)Waste not to be disposed without consent of Director-General1.Chemical waste2.Chlorinated fungicide, chlorinated herbicide and chlorinated insecticide3.Explosive or highly flammable waste, including ammunition, dry and wet carbide waste, fireworks, self-igniting waste and excessive quantities of films4.Human and animal excrement, sludge from neutralisation pits, foul smelling waste and animal carcasses5.Liquid and volatile waste, oil sludge and paints6.Poisonous and radioactive waste7.Smouldering waste[S 460/2023 wef 01/07/2023]