Can you recycle takeaway containers or light bulbs? NEA's new AI chatbot can tell you

SINGAPORE — Not sure if you can recycle a frying pan? What about that takeaway plastic container with food? Or maybe clothes that are still in good condition but you do not want any more?

You can now ask an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot if an item, especially one that is not obviously recyclable, can be placed in the blue bins for recycling near your homes.

The National Environment Agency's (NEA) Bloobin AI chatbot, named after Singapore's blue recycling mascot, was rolled out on messaging applications WhatsApp and Telegram on Sept 16.

Those unsure can ask it questions or send the chatbot a picture of an item to check if it can be recycled.

Go to https://www.cgs.gov.sg/recycleright/check-my-item/, or scan these QR codes to access the chatbot directly on WhatsApp or Telegram.

The chatbot was introduced by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng at the launch of the Recycle Right 2024 campaign at Unity Primary School on Sept 16.

This came after an NEA survey in 2023 showed that 72 per cent of households here recycled, an increase from 64 per cent in 2021.

However, the contamination rate of recyclables in blue bins has stayed at around 40 per cent since 2017.

One reason for this is Singaporeans' uncertainty about what can be deposited in the blue bin.

When non-recyclables such as food and liquids are thrown into the blue recycling bins for all paper, plastic, glass and metal recyclables, they contaminate actual recyclables, which must then be incinerated.

The items most commonly misclassified by respondents of NEA's household recycling survey in 2023 were small electronic appliances (41 per cent of respondents), old clothing (41 per cent) and light bulbs (31 per cent).

Items such as old frying pans and clothes in good condition cannot be placed in the blue recycling bins, but they can be recycled or donated through other avenues.

Takeaway plastic containers have to be washed clean and dried before being deposited in blue recycling bins.

Before the launch of the AI chatbot, NEA in 2022 introduced a recycling search engine on the Clean and Green Singapore website for the public to check if an item is recyclable.

Powered by ChatGPT, a form of generative AI designed to interact with users in a conversational way, the Bloobin AI chatbot uses information from various verified sources. These include data used by the recycling search engine and from a recycling guide that can also be found on the Clean and Green Singapore website.

Under the national Zero Waste Masterplan and Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore aims to achieve a 70 per cent overall recycling rate by 2030.

But the household recycling rate in 2023 stagnated at its lowest point in more than a decade, with just 12 per cent of all rubbish thrown out recycled.

Baey said: "So we hope that this (Bloobin AI chatbot) will help us to raise the domestic recycling rate of 12 per cent to reach our target of 30 per cent by the year 2030.

"Because among the things that we recover from our blue bins, we still have 40 per cent of items that are contaminated."

Michael Ray Sutedja, 11, a Primary 6 pupil from Unity Primary School, said that the chatbot will be very useful to his parents.

"This AI chatbot is very versatile. Adults like my parents usually have their phones with them so they can access the chatbot easily," he said.

"Not only can the chatbot educate them on what can and cannot be recycled, it can also tell them which bins to recycle the items in."

An operations manager and a mother of two, Joanna Tang, 36, said: "While I'm quite familiar with the common recyclables like bottles or packaging, this chatbot is quite useful for other household items, like plastic containers or toys, for example."

Her husband Alson Tang, 39, a public relations professional, said that the chatbot is quite fun and educational.

"We had fun going around the neighbourhood with my young children, taking pictures of items, and discussing what can be recycled and why," he added.

Robin Rheaume, founder of Recyclopedia.sg, a volunteer-run website about recycling, said that the AI chatbot is a great step-up from the recycling search engine provided on the Clean and Green Singapore website.

"It has amazing potential to be a platform for consumer education on good recycling habits," she said.

"It will also be useful as a way to gather information about what consumers are asking and areas of possible confusion. I'm looking forward to seeing how it evolves."

Rheaume added that some simple consumer education tips could be included, such as reminders to collapse boxes or a link to a video on how to rinse containers.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.