Singaporeans will now have to shell more money for collection of garbage as operating costs have increased, said National Environment Agency (NEA).
The hike in fees will be effective from January next year. The fees will be raised to S$8.25 for those living in flats, and S$27.47 for those living in landed property.
Currently, those living in flats such as Housing and Development Board (HDB) units and condominiums pay S$7.49 per month, while households living on landed property pay S$24.81.
The NEA appoints public waste collectors (PWCs) to collect garbage from households via open tenders, and each household pays a monthly refuse collection fee through its monthly utility bill.
The current fees were set in July 2012, when the NEA moved to standard fees islandwide. Before standardisation, the fees paid by households varied according to different geographical areas.
For example, HDB households in Ang Mo Kio-Toa Payoh, Hougang-Punggol, Woodlands-Yishun and Tanglin-Bukit Merah paid between S$4.82 and S$5.81 a month, before the fees were raised to the standard S$7.49 for flats.
The standardised fees were first introduced to the Pasir Ris-Tampines and Bedok sectors when their new contracts with the PWCs commenced, and gradually covered all households by January last year.
Asked what steps it would take to moderate further increases in costs, the NEA said it was working with the industry to boost productivity and “uphold the high standards of public hygiene” for refuse collection.
“This is with the aim of moderating the refuse-collection fees for households against the rising costs faced by the industry,” a spokesperson added.
The next review of garbage collection fees is scheduled for January 2019.