Statute Details
- Title: Resource Sustainability (Exemptions from Part 5) Order 2024
- Act Code: RSA2019-S195-2024
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Resource Sustainability Act 2019
- Enacting authority: Minister for Sustainability and the Environment
- Commencement: 8 March 2024
- Key provisions (from extract): Section 2 (exemption for mixed-use buildings); Section 3 (exemption for certain food waste)
- Legislation number: S 195/2024
- Made on: 6 March 2024
- Current version status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026 (per provided extract)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Resource Sustainability (Exemptions from Part 5) Order 2024 is a Singapore subsidiary legislation made under the Resource Sustainability Act 2019 (“RSA 2019”). In plain language, it creates targeted exemptions from the obligations in “Part 5” of the RSA 2019 for certain occupiers, building managers, and specific categories of food waste.
The RSA 2019 is Singapore’s legislative framework for promoting resource sustainability, including measures aimed at reducing waste and improving waste management practices. “Part 5” of the RSA 2019 (not reproduced in the extract) is the part that imposes requirements on relevant persons and/or waste streams. This Order does not repeal those requirements. Instead, it carves out circumstances where compliance with Part 5 is not required, either because the relevant premises are unlikely to generate the relevant waste in the same way as other premises, or because certain waste types are treated differently from the perspective of feasibility, handling, or regulatory policy.
Practically, the Order is designed to reduce regulatory burden and to ensure that Part 5 obligations apply proportionately. It does so by (i) exempting occupiers and building managers of certain mixed-use buildings in relation to particular food waste generated by specified occupiers, and (ii) exempting occupiers and building managers of “prescribed buildings” in relation to “specified food waste” (a defined set of food waste categories).
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) is straightforward. It provides the short title—“Resource Sustainability (Exemptions from Part 5) Order 2024”—and states that the Order comes into operation on 8 March 2024. For practitioners, the commencement date is important for determining whether exemptions apply to obligations arising before or after that date, particularly where compliance schedules or enforcement actions may relate to a period spanning the Order’s effective date.
Section 2 (Exemption for occupiers and building managers of mixed‑used buildings) is the first substantive exemption. It provides that the following persons are each exempt from Part 5 of the RSA 2019:
(a) An occupier of a mixed‑use building, but only where the occupier occupies a part of the building that is not used as:
- a shopping mall;
- a hotel; and
- for any industrial purpose.
In other words, the exemption is conditional on the use of the specific part of the mixed-use building occupied by the occupier. The legal significance is that “mixed-use building” is not enough by itself; the occupier must occupy a portion that falls outside the listed high-activity categories (shopping malls, hotels, industrial uses). This suggests a policy view that the waste profile and operational realities for those excluded uses differ materially from other uses within mixed-use buildings.
(b) The building manager of a mixed‑use building, but only “in relation to any food waste generated by an occupier” described in Section 2(a). This is a linked exemption: the building manager’s exemption is not blanket. It depends on the food waste being generated by an occupier who meets the Section 2(a) conditions. For legal compliance, this means building managers should be able to identify which occupiers fall within the exemption and, correspondingly, which waste streams are covered.
Section 3 (Exemption for occupiers and building managers for certain food waste) expands the exemption based on the type of food waste rather than the use of the premises. Section 3(1) provides that an occupier of a prescribed building (or any part of a prescribed building) and a building manager of a prescribed building are each exempt from Part 5 of the RSA 2019 in relation to any specified food waste.
Section 3(2) defines “specified food waste” as the following types:
- (a) any clam shell, conch shell, mussel shell, oyster shell, crab shell, lobster shell, snail shell or other similar hard shell;
- (b) any durian husk, jackfruit husk, coconut husk, pineapple husk, sugarcane bagasse or other similar hard or fibrous part of any fruit or vegetable;
- (c) any beef femur, pork knuckle, pork trotter, lamb shank, animal skull or other similar large bone.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the key legal work is classification. The exemption turns on whether the waste is within the enumerated categories or is “other similar” to them. That phrase introduces interpretive questions: what makes a shell “similar,” what makes a fibrous part “similar,” and what qualifies as a “large bone” in the context of the listed examples. In practice, compliance teams should document the basis for classification (e.g., supplier descriptions, food preparation records, and waste audit results) to support the exemption if challenged.
Also notable is the scope: the exemption applies to both occupiers and building managers, and it applies “in relation to” specified food waste. That wording typically indicates that the exemption is not necessarily a full exemption from all Part 5 obligations for the premises; rather, it is limited to the specified waste stream(s). Lawyers advising on compliance should therefore avoid assuming that the presence of specified food waste automatically removes all Part 5 duties.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Order is compact and structured as a short instrument with an enacting formula and three operative provisions. The structure is:
- Section 1: Citation and commencement (sets the effective date and short title).
- Section 2: Exemption for occupiers and building managers of mixed‑use buildings, with conditions tied to the use of the specific part occupied and to the food waste generated by the exempt occupier.
- Section 3: Exemption for occupiers and building managers of “prescribed buildings” in relation to “specified food waste,” with a detailed definition of the waste types covered.
Although the extract does not reproduce definitions of “mixed‑use building” or “prescribed building,” those terms are typically defined either in the RSA 2019 or in related subsidiary instruments. Practitioners should therefore cross-check the RSA 2019 and any relevant “prescribed building” regulations or schedules to confirm the exact buildings captured by Section 3.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to two categories of persons: occupiers and building managers. It does not directly apply to waste collectors or treatment facilities; rather, it allocates exemptions to the parties responsible for compliance under Part 5 of the RSA 2019.
For mixed-use buildings, Section 2 applies to an occupier only if the occupier occupies a part of the building that is not used as a shopping mall, not used as a hotel, and not used for any industrial purpose. The building manager’s exemption under Section 2 is limited to food waste generated by such exempt occupiers.
For prescribed buildings, Section 3 applies to occupiers of the prescribed building (or any part of it) and to the building manager, but only in relation to “specified food waste.” The exemption therefore depends on both (i) whether the building is “prescribed” and (ii) whether the waste stream is within the defined categories.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is important because it clarifies that Part 5 obligations under the RSA 2019 are not intended to be one-size-fits-all. By granting exemptions, the Minister has signalled that certain premises and certain waste types should be treated differently. For lawyers advising regulated entities, this affects risk assessment, compliance planning, and the scope of internal policies for waste segregation and reporting.
For occupiers, the mixed-use building exemption can reduce the compliance burden where the occupier’s premises are used for purposes outside the excluded categories. However, the exemption is conditional and fact-specific. Lawyers should therefore focus on the operational use of the occupied part of the building and ensure that the occupier can substantiate its use (e.g., tenancy agreements, operational licences, and floor plan descriptions).
For building managers, the Order introduces a dependency model: the building manager’s exemption under Section 2 depends on the status of the occupier generating the food waste. This creates a practical need for building managers to maintain records of occupier categories and to implement processes to identify which waste streams correspond to which occupiers. Where building managers manage multiple tenants with different uses, the exemption may require segregation not only of waste types but also of waste sources.
For waste classification and segregation, Section 3 is particularly significant. The defined “specified food waste” categories include shells, fibrous fruit/vegetable parts, and large bones—waste types that may be handled differently from other food waste (for example, in terms of physical characteristics, collection methods, or downstream processing). If an entity can legitimately classify waste within these categories, it may be exempt from Part 5 requirements “in relation to” that waste. This can influence how waste is segregated at source, how contractors are instructed, and how compliance documentation is prepared.
Related Legislation
- Resource Sustainability Act 2019 (RSA 2019) — in particular, Part 5 and the exemption-making power in section 50.
- Resource Sustainability (Exemptions from Part 5) Order 2024 — S 195/2024 (this instrument).
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Resource Sustainability (Exemptions from Part 5) Order 2024 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.