Senior Minister of State Dr Amy Khor and Norway Ambassador to open TOMRA Resource Transformation Centre in Singapore
Singapore to be TOMRA Collection’s launchpad to expand presence in the region
Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr Amy Khor and Norway’s Ambassador to Singapore H.E Eivind S. Homme jointly opened the TOMRA Resource Transformation Centre today in Ang Mo Kio in Singapore.
In the longer term, TOMRA Collection intends to use Singapore as a launch pad to introduce its products and technologies into the Southeast Asia region, to optimize resource usage and minimize waste across various industries. This will lead to benefits such as emissions reductions, a cleaner physical environment and new opportunities in the recycling ecosystem.
TOMRAwas founded on an innovation in 1972 that began with the design, manufacture and sale of reverse vending machines (RVM) machines for the automated collection of used beverage containers. Over the decades, TOMRA has become a global technology-led and circular economy solutions provider. It offers advanced collection and sorting systems that optimize resource recovery and minimize waste in the food, recycling and mining industries.
With an installed base of approximately 80,000 machines in over 60 markets, TOMRA is the world's leading provider of reverse vending solutions. Every year, TOMRA facilitates the collection of more than 40 billion empty cans and bottles. It provides retailers and other customers with an effective and efficient way of collecting, sorting and processing these containers.
The new centre will serve as an open space showroom of innovation and technology that transforms TOMRA’s vision for Singapore - to inspire and shape future waste resource recovery systems to accelerate the shift towards a circular economy - into an interactive experience. The centre also encourages visitors to gain a rewarding recycling experience by trying out TOMRA’s state-of-the-art RVM technologies and the machines’ seamless integration with digital services to boost convenience and engagement. The showroom seeks to educate visitors in ways to enhance circularity and sustainability in Singapore too.
“With the opening of the TOMRA Resource Transformation Centre, we look forward to helping Singapore make greater strides in its Zero Waste journey, to achieve its national recycling rate of 70% by 2030 and to transform her into a greener, more circular and sustainable city-state,” said Mr Wolfgang Ringel, Senior Vice-President and Global Head of Public Affairs, TOMRA.
Ms Bing Zhao, TOMRA’s Vice-President and Head of Collection, Asia, who was based in Xiamen, China until mid-March 2022 when she relocated to Singapore, said: “With our RVM technologies, TOMRA seeks to reward the recycling efforts of individuals by ensuring that they receive returns for their recyclable waste deposits such as plastic PET bottles and aluminium cans, thus turning ‘use into reuse’ and ‘trash into treasure’ for both the recyclers and the environment.”
“In addition, over the next few years, we also aim to grow a regional presence and anchor Singapore as a hub for training, test-bedding, product development and R&D activities,” added Chinese-Norwegian Ms Zhao who was previously TOMRA’s Director of Investor Relations and Strategy in Oslo, Norway.
