Tampines MP Charlene Chen digs through Bloobin to find recycling mistakes, finds fried rice & half-eaten sandwich

People's Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines GRC, Charlene Chen, dug through a Bloobin recycling bin and found a half-eaten sandwich, fried rice, and cigarette butts.

She was taking a closer look at the Bloobin to uncover common recycling mistakes and create awareness to prevent contamination of recyclables.

In a Facebook post on May 26, captioned "What’s really inside our Bloobins?", Chen noted that "While many have the right intention to recycle, recycling right makes all the difference". 

In the video, Chen, who is also the Vice-Chairman of Tampines Town Council, said, "Sometimes, people put things in that shouldn't be in there."

"If there's food waste in there, the cockroach will have a feast in there. We don't want the cockroaches to have a feast in there."

Food waste attracts pests

In the video, Chen could be seen sorting through recyclables from plastic milk containers to cardboard boxes.

She found multiple food items that should not be in the Bloobin, as it would attract pests such as rodents.

Chen also found nonrecyclable trash, which should be put into the green bins for general waste disposal.

In her caption, she said, "one contaminated item can render the entire batch unrecyclable".

Cigarette butts may cause recyclables to catch fire

While sorting through cardboard boxes, Chen found a cigarette butt.

Besides being unrecyclable in regular Bloobins, cigarettes with sparks may cause the bins' recyclables to catch fire.

Other items that cannot be recycled include toilet paper, paper towels, tissue paper, and styrofoam.

These items should be kept out of the Bloobin so that it will not overflow.

Items that can be recycled, such as cardboard, egg cartons, and certain plastics, should be kept clean, dry, and contamination-free.

In her caption, Chen added that cardboard boxes should also be flattened before disposal.

If one spots an overflowing Bloobin, feedback can be sent via the myENV App, linked here.

For more information on recycling right, check out the Clean and Green Singapore website.