Source: Government of Singapore
Singapore, 13 September 2025 – Singapore continued to see a decrease in waste generation rate in 2024. Over the past decade, daily domestic waste generated per capita decreased by more than 20 per cent, and daily non-domestic waste generated per billion dollar Gross Domestic Product decreased by more than 30 per cent [1]. The reduction in waste generation is the outcome of households and businesses making more deliberate choices to embrace environmentally sustainable practices through reducing, reusing and recycling, and more can certainly be done.
2 The National Environment Agency (NEA) launched its annual campaign today to urge everyone to Say YES to Waste Less (SYTWL) and encourage further action. This year’s campaign highlights that every purchase decision presents an opportunity to waste less. The campaign features two main highlights: a four-episode online reality series and a roving exhibition called the “Waste Less Supermart”.
3 Over 260 partners across various sectors in Singapore have committed to promote the reduction of food waste and disposable items. This year, there are 99 new partners including:
- Alexandra Hospital’s culinary team that implemented measures to repurpose excess food ingredients into new dishes and installed a biodigester to treat food waste.
- Frasers Property Singapore that implemented a first-of-its-kind food waste valorisation programme across five of its malls since January 2024.
- Gain City who had replaced single-use plastic bags with recyclable shopping bags and encouraged customers to bring their own. Their food kiosks now provide a ‘less rice’ option to help reduce food waste, and their Megastore features a food waste machine that processes food scraps into compost.
- South East Community Development Council who had introduced an educational and sustainable programme to promote a zero-waste lifestyle that supports a circular economy in the community such as the Wormery Movement programme.
4 Other new SYTWL partners have introduced initiatives to reduce food waste and disposables. For example:
- At Tea offers a 50-cent discount when customers bring their reusable tumblers and 10-cent discount when they opt out of disposable carriers.
- CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent promotes waste reduction through various initiatives. “Ask for Less Food” signages in the canteen encourage mindful food portions, while students are encouraged to bring reusable containers and cutlery for takeaways and during school programmes such as level camps.
- Kampong Chai Chee Grassroots Organisations (GROs) collaborated with Fridge Restock Community SG to distribute rescued vegetables and fruits to the residents. There are currently six distribution points across Kampong Chai Chee.
- National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is implementing key initiatives across its operations to support the campaign such as encouraging staff at its in-house café, NKF Kaki Corner, to bring reusable cups. Coffee grounds will also be made available as compost for staff and tenants to enrich their homegrown plants.
- National University of Singapore (NUS) has launched a campus-wide Bring-Your-Own (BYO) campaign from 11 August to 6 December 2025, reinforcing its commitment to shaping a zero-waste campus. The campaign combines incentives and deterrents: a $0.60 discount is offered for BYO takeaway drinks, while a $0.20 fee applies to drinks served in disposables.
- Naval Base Secondary School supports and promotes a culture of waste-less among staff and students. As part of their back-to-school package, reusable cutlery and water bottle were provided to all staff and students.
- At Open Farm Community, all food scraps and coffee grounds from the kitchen are repurposed into nutrient-rich compost. This compost is then used to make the soil in their urban farm.
- Sodexo Singapore Pte Ltd uses technology to track and analyse food waste data, helping culinary teams make data-driven decisions to reduce kitchen waste and minimise plate waste from guests.
- Toa Payoh East Zone 6 Residents’ Network (RN)’s ‘Dragon Pasar’ initiative sees about 70 dedicated volunteers partnering five shops in Little India, to collect surplus food items every Sunday. These food items are then re-packed and redistributed to residents via the 24-hour accessible chillers at the Residents’ Network’s centre.
- W Singapore – Sentosa Cove partners with Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) to convert food waste into fertiliser and supports marine conservation efforts, including oyster reef restoration and coral garden preservation.
- Start-up company, Yindii, tackles food waste via their app which connects restaurants, hotels, bakeries, and supermarkets with surplus food, offering it to consumers at half-price.
5 The full list of partners and their initiatives supporting this year’s campaign can be found in Annex A.
Reducing waste by rethinking our purchasing habits
6 The SYTWL campaign messages will reach wider audiences through various channels, including out-of-home advertising, digital and social media platforms, and community and school engagements. A key highlight is a four-episode online reality series titled “Waste Less? Say YES!”. The series challenges local personalities Avery Aloysius (987FM DJ), Chen Ning (YES933 DJ), Irene Ang, Suhaimi Yusof, Glenn Yong and many more to waste less in various point-of-purchase scenarios. It demonstrates how simple waste reduction can be when we make mindful purchasing decisions. The series will be released weekly on the Clean and Green Singapore (CGS) YouTube go.gov.sg/wastelesssayyes from 13 September 2025.
7 The “Waste Less Supermart” roving exhibition aims to encourage the public to rethink their purchasing habits by highlighting sustainable behaviours in various common scenarios such as dining out, grocery shopping, retail shopping and managing food wastage at home. The exhibition will feature activities, including upcycling workshops by Semula and The Sustainability Project, and interactive stations for exchanging food wastage reduction tips with others. There are also opportunities to contribute to a reusable bag rack by either swapping or donating a bag.
8 The “Waste Less Supermart” exhibition will be held at two locations. First, at 313@Somerset on 13 and 14 September 2025, where visitors can receive a complimentary iced coffee or tea from Starbucks when they bring their own reusable bottle or cup (while stocks last). The exhibition will then be held at IMM from 20 to 21 September 2025 where SYTWL collapsible cups will be distributed (while stocks last). Refer to go.gov.sg/wlsm for more information.
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