Message from Co-Directors

Singapore has long approached waste management with commitment, innovation and foresight. As our economy grows and industrial systems become more complex, the challenge before us is no longer simply how to dispose of waste safely, but how to manage residue and toxic industrial waste streams in ways that are resilient, circular, and both resource- and land-efficient.

This challenge is particularly acute in Singapore. As a land-scarce nation with only one offshore landfill at Semakau, we must rethink how waste is managed — not just at the point of disposal, but across the entire lifecycle of materials.

The Towards Resource Efficiency and Sustainability for Urban Environments (TREASURES) centre was established to address this challenge. Jointly founded by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), TREASURES is Singapore’s first national research centre dedicated to advancing science and innovation in residue and toxic industrial waste management.

TREASURES’s vision is to enable Singapore to move towards total material circularity, where residue and toxic industrial waste streams are no longer treated as end-of-pipe liabilities, but as resources that can be safely recovered, reused and reintegrated into the economy.

A key focus of the centre is supporting the long-term transformation of Semakau Landfill into a Zero-Waste Transit Storage and Processing Hub (TSPH), where waste streams, currently destined to be landfilled, can be sorted, treated, and converted into useful materials – removing the need for a permanent landfill. This model seeks to redefine how land-scarce cities manage their residues. Achieving this vision will require breakthroughs in environmental science, engineering, treatment technologies, and supporting frameworks.

TREASURES operates through a collaborative ecosystem that connects universities, industry partners, and government agencies to accelerate the translation of research into practical, scalable solutions. Together, we aim to strengthen Singapore’s environmental resilience while advancing a more circular and resource-efficient future.

We invite researchers, companies and partners who share this vision to work with us in building the next generation of sustainable urban waste systems.

Dr Lou Xian Fang, National Environment Agency
Prof Chu Jian, Nanyang Technological University
Centre Co‑Directors