WASTE MANAGEMENT

 

WASTE REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

As a real estate developer and manager, the bulk of our waste is generated by our builders and tenants. All of CDL’s generated waste at both the construction sites and managed buildings are disposed of in accordance with local waste regulations. Recyclable waste from our managed buildings and construction sites are collected by engaged vendors, who are NEA-licensed, to be treated and recycled accordingly.

In land-scarce Singapore, general waste is sent to the waste-to-energy incineration plant, where energy is recovered through this process. The resulting incinerated ash is then transported to our only landfill – Semakau Island for disposal.

Recognising that Semakau landfill is expected to run out of space by 2035 and that construction debris cannot be incinerated and is thus directly sent to the landfill, we are driven to effectively manage our waste generation. Come 2030, CDL targets to reduce waste intensity for our office and industrial buildings by 16% from 2016 levels. CDL also targets to reduce waste intensity for our retail buildings by 12% from 2016 levels.

We continuously invest, innovate, and adopt leading-edge technology, such as adopting PPVC, to significantly reduce construction waste.

Lifecycle Approach to Waste Management

CDL remains steadfast in managing our waste efficiently and seeks to reduce, reuse, and recycle our waste, whenever feasible, across every stage of our project lifecycle. Adopting the waste management hierarchy approach, we also focus on reducing waste before considering reusing and recycling.

Waste Reduction Performance

Aligned with our holistic management of environmental impacts at our managed buildings, we regularly review our waste minimisation and recycling initiatives for all our properties.

In 2019, around 3,944 tonnes of general, non-hazardous waste was disposed of in CDL-managed buildings. This saw a marginal increase in waste intensity at our managed buildings in 2019 compared to 2018 due to changes in tenancy mix for retail properties.

In the same year, about 742 tonnes of recyclable waste was collected from our managed buildings, 88% of which was paper. Since 2017, 100% of our tenants have been consistently participating in our paper recycling programme. At our retail properties such as City Square Mall, recycling bins and facilities are provided extensively to encourage recycling of paper, plastic, metal, food and e-waste by shoppers and tenants. As such, City Square Mall reported a recycling rate of 24% in 2019, which is above the currently reported national recycling rate for malls of 10.7%1 .

In 2019, construction waste disposed of at all CDL construction sites amounted to 2,995 tonnes, with a waste intensity of 33kg/m2 . This meets the 2019 waste targets set for Property Development, and is on track to achieve the 2030 targets.

LIFECYCLE APPROACH TO WASTE MANAGEMENT

STAGE IN PROJECT LIFECYCLE Initiatives Benefits
Design
Adopting PPVC technology for large-scale residential developments Reduce waste generation and pave the way for cleaner and safer construction sites
Construction
Adhering to CDL’s Construction and Demolition Waste Policy since 2009 for the adoption of sustainable construction practices Increased use of sustainable products by builders and improved recycling rates for construction waste
Identifying materials for reuse or recycling under BCA’s Demolition Protocol Reduce waste generation and costs required to re-purchase materials
Reusing furnishings in our show flats, wherever the design or theme permits
Operation of Assets
Implementing recycling programme for light bulbs Divert waste from landfill and reduce use of resources
Introducing recycling programmes for CDL Corporate Office and managed buildings, where relevant

Refer to ISR 2020, pg 61 – 62 for charts on CDL’s waste generated, disposed of and recycled.

1 Singapore’s mandatory waste reporting exercise: recycling rate for large malls increased from 6.7% to 10.7% from 2014 to 2018, NEA, February 2019.