Singapore Cash-for-Trash: What These Recycling Stations Accept and How They Pay

Cash-for-trash collection points are the only place in Singapore where a householder sees a direct price for recyclables. Private recyclers and aggregators run these yards, many at Sarimbun Recycling Park. You deliver clean, segregated recyclables and get paid by weight. The National Environment Agency does not run this. The price you receive reflects the downstream commodity price for that recyclate, which shifts with global markets.

Here is how it works. Bring sorted loads to a weighbridge. Staff inspect and weigh each category, and you collect a per-kilogram rate. Payout is cash. For larger loads, some operators transfer the money to your bank account. The recycler buys the material as a commodity, not as waste. That means every batch must be clean and sorted by type. Mixed paper, aluminium cans, ferrous metal, PET bottles, HDPE containers: each carries its own price and its own contamination threshold.

A common failure is arriving with commingled recyclables. Yards reject mixed loads. They lack the equipment to sort them profitably. Segregate by type at home, not at the weighbridge.

Most cash-for-trash yards in Singapore cluster at Sarimbun Recycling Park in Lim Chu Kang. This industrial zone houses materials recovery facilities and private recyclers that process everything from paper fibre to scrap metal. Other points operate independently across the island, often at the premises of scrap dealers or aggregators.

What You Can Sell

The accepted list is narrow compared to the blue bin:

• Clean paper and cardboard (no food residue, no wet-strength paper)
• Aluminium cans (rinsed, crushed to save space)
• Ferrous metal (iron and steel, free of attachments)
• PET bottles (bottles only, caps removed, rinsed)
• HDPE containers (milk jugs, detergent bottles, same preparation)

Some yards also take clean glass jars and certain plastics numbered 3 to 7, but volumes must be high enough to justify the transaction. E-waste is a separate stream. Regulated e-waste goes through the ALBA E-waste Smart Recycling network, not through cash-for-trash points. A handful of yards may accept non-regulated e-waste. Call ahead before you haul it.

What Gets Rejected

Do not bring mixed loads, soft plastics, Styrofoam, textiles, food waste, or anything with visible contamination. Soft plastics and textiles are not mechanically sortable at a standard MRF and they hold negligible commodity value. If your load contains these, the yard may reject the entire batch or deduct heavily from your payout.

The price you get at a cash-for-trash yard is not set by the NEA. It tracks the global commodity price for that recyclate, the price a re-processor pays for clean, baled loads, minus the yard's handling costs and a gate fee. The gate fee covers operating costs: labour, electricity, transport, and the cost of disposing of any residue that cannot be sold.

When commodity prices rise, the per-kilogram payout rises. When they fall, the payout drops. The yard may stop accepting certain loads altogether. Mixed paper and low-grade plastics run narrow margins and are often accepted only in bulk. Aluminium cans and ferrous metal consistently hold value. Smelting them from virgin ore is energy-intensive, so the secondary feedstock has a clear market.

Prices shift weekly. Call the yard before you travel. A yard that quotes a price over the phone is giving you that day's rate; it may change by tomorrow.

How This Differs From The Blue Bin

The blue bin, the commingled bin under the National Recycling Programme, pays nothing. The Public Waste Collector collects the bin contents and delivers them to the MRF. The NEA pays the PWC a contracted fee for the service. You never see a price. The blue bin system is built for convenience, not value. Cash-for-trash yards are the opposite. They reward effort and cleanliness with a direct payment. The effort is yours.

Not everything is worth the trip. The items that earn the highest per-kilogram payout are those with stable end markets and low processing costs. Here is the practical breakdown.

Aluminium Cans And Ferrous Metal

Aluminium cans are the most valuable household recyclable by weight. A single can weighs about 14 grams, but the metal is energy-intensive to produce from bauxite, so the secondary market is strong. You need volume. Several kilograms at least. Ferrous metal, think steel cans and scrap iron, pays less per kilogram but is easier to store and has consistent demand from local steel mills and export markets.

Paper Fibre: Mixed Paper And Cardboard

Clean cardboard, corrugated boxes and brown kraft paper, pays a modest rate. Mixed paper, office paper, magazines, junk mail, pays less. Yards often require a significant volume, 50 kilograms or more, before they will take it. Paper fibre carries a high transport cost relative to its value. A small bundle of newspaper is not worth their time.

PET And HDPE Plastics

PET bottles, the clear plastic drink bottles, and HDPE containers, the opaque bottles for milk, detergent and shampoo, are the plastics with established recycling infrastructure here. They are baled and shipped to re-processors overseas. The payout per kilogram is low because the commodity price is low and the handling cost is high. Only bring these if you have a car boot full and you are already making the trip for metals or paper.

What To Skip

Glass jars: the payout is negligible. Glass is heavy, low-value, and Singapore has limited glass recycling capacity. The 2023 glass recycling rate was 13%. Soft plastics: no yard accepts them. They entangle MRF equipment. Textiles: the 2023 textile recycling rate was 2%. Leave these in the blue bin or take them to dedicated collection points. E-waste: use an ALBA bin or a quarterly drive, not a cash-for-trash yard.

Sarimbun Recycling Park packs the highest concentration of cash-for-trash operators in Singapore. Multiple recyclers operate side by side, each with its own weighbridge and pricing. Arrive with your loads sorted into separate bags or boxes per category.

The Weighbridge Routine

Drive to the weighbridge. Tell the operator what you have brought. Each category gets weighed separately. The operator inspects for contamination. A bag of mixed paper with a single plastic bottle inside may be rejected or assigned a lower mixed-waste price. You receive a ticket showing the weight and the payout. Payment is cash, handed over on the spot.

Getting There And What To Know

Sarimbun sits in Lim Chu Kang, a rural area with limited public transport. Drive or take a taxi. The park is industrial, not a retail destination. Do not expect signage or customer service desks. You are selling to a business. Call ahead to confirm hours and current prices. Some operators close on Sundays and public holidays.

The failure case is driving out without a phone call and finding the yard closed or the price too low to justify the trip. Call first. Ask for the current price for each category and confirm the yard accepts your volume. Some require a minimum of 10 kilograms per type.