In high-rise estates, refuse thrown down the refuse chute lands up in a container at the bottom of the chute. The container is emptied every day by Town Council cleaners into larger wheeled bins and brought to the bin centre. At the bin centre, the refuse is either stored in the large wheeled bins or emptied into a mechanical refuse compactor. The waste collector will collect the refuse from the bin centre using specialised refuse compaction vehicles if the refuse is stored in bins or using a prime mover to tow away the mechanical compactor. The refuse is then transported to one of the four incineration plants in Singapore for disposal.

The common recyclable materials are waste paper, cardboard, drink cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles and old clothing.

Public recycling bins and collection centres can be found at the following locations.

While there is no mandatory requirement for the symbols to be used, a set of sample symbols are found here as guidelines on how bins for different recyclables can be labelled for easy identification.

The Singapore Environment Council, a non-government organisation, actively organises activities to promote and create the awareness on environmental issues. The contact particulars are as follows:
Singapore Environment Council
Address: 52A Duxton Road Singapore 089516
Tel: 6337 6062
Fax: 6337 6035
Website: http://www.sec.org.sg