Singapore has earned its reputation as one of the cleanest and greenest countries in the world through effective urban planning, a well-organised waste management system and extensive public education.
One company that has greatly enhanced the city-state’s reputation for cleanliness is Chye Thiam Maintenance (CTM), founded in 1979 by former pig farmer Tan Chye Thiam. His vision was to create opportunities for farmers whose livelihoods were affected by the rapid development and transformation of the republic’s agricultural landscape.
Since its beginnings, CTM has experienced significant growth. Specialising in cleaning and environmental services, waste management and recycling, the company now employs nearly 3,000 people and serves over 50 clients across the municipal and commercial sectors.
This success is driven by Tan’s son, Edy Tan Wei Hock, who has led the company for the past decade. As he tells The Edge Singapore, he credits the strong foundation laid by his parents, which allows the next generation to take over and further the expansion.
This year, CTM is celebrating its 45th anniversary with special recognition. EY has named the younger Tan as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Environmental Services, one of four winners this year. While he is honoured by the accolade, Tan maintains that his continued success is the result of a collective team effort.
“Within the team itself, we have four very important pillars — people, performance, progress and preservation. We are highly people-centric, especially as we operate in a labour-intensive industry with a large workforce. Managing this presents its own set of challenges. And while our HR team does an excellent job, recruiting talent is difficult, but retaining it is even harder,” Tan adds.
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This is why CTM needs to develop innovative strategies to attract and retain talent. For one, the company closely collaborates with different organisations, such as NTUC U Women and Family. Teaming with the unit, CTM launched a first-of-a-kind C U Back at Work (CUB) programme, which offers roles that cater to those with caregiving schedules. CTM is unionised under the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union.
“In Singapore, there are approximately 260,000 caregivers, both male and female, who have left their jobs for five, 10 or even more years to care for children or elderly parents. As their caregiving responsibilities lessen, they often seek to re-enter the workforce but may lack confidence or be unfamiliar with industry changes,” says Tan.
To support their return, CTM also partnered with SkillsFuture Singapore to provide a confidence-building course and six modules from the Workforce Skills Qualifications cleaning programme.
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The aim is not to prepare participants for basic cleaning roles but to familiarise them with the professional cleaning industry, says Tan. “We value their previous professional experience — they may have been managers or executives before. We intend to employ them in these higher-level positions. By leveraging their skills, they can manage teams, oversee fleets of robots and share their expertise with our staff. This approach is a significant part of our efforts to attract and retain capable people.”
Enhancing output and service
In addition to maintaining many of Singapore’s public amenities, CTM also services the city’s landmarks, including Esplanade, Resorts World Sentosa, Ngee Ann City and Jewel Changi Airport. This responsibility drives the company to strive for excellence in its performance and progress continually. “We like to challenge ourselves by taking on projects with high demands and expectations. This approach allows us to push our limits and showcase to clients what we can achieve,” says Tan.
To enhance output and service delivery, CTM has integrated technology into its operations by introducing advanced systems, platforms and AI. For example, in its municipal projects, the green bins at bus stops previously required daily emptying. To ensure compliance, CTM used plastic bags of different colours each day to indicate that the necessary tasks had been completed.
With the new contract, CTM has implemented Internet of Things-powered sensors installed on the bins’ lids to signal the company’s command centre when they are full. Upon receiving these alerts, CTM can deploy its staff accordingly. “This approach eliminates the need to check every bin along several kilometres of bus stops physically. Instead, we only service those bins that require attention,” says Tan.
The system has now been enhanced, with sensors capable of providing information about the contents of the bins. Using AI, CTM can track and monitor what has been discarded, allowing the company to generate detailed reports for its clients, Tan adds. Integrating this tracking and monitoring software into its services enables CTM to measure its performance, instilling confidence among its clients.
The company continually invests in new machinery, often taking the lead in introducing innovations, even when they come at a high cost. Furthermore, CTM recognises that not all off-the-shelf equipment is suitable for Singapore’s context. To address this, the team attends global trade shows to study new products in detail. Rather than purchasing equipment as-is, they analyse its basic functions and either replicate the machine entirely or fabricate modifications to ensure it is suitable for local use.
“For example, some machines used in European countries are not practical here due to their size. They can’t navigate our smaller lanes and they can be quite costly, sometimes costing around $1 million. What we do instead is work with our engineering partners to come up with our machine, which would cost half the price and is suitable for the local context,” says Tan.
Circular economy
Sustainability is a core value for CTM, rooted in its founders’ belief that wastefulness should be avoided. In its final pillar, preservation, the company focuses on its commitment to the circular economy, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.
This is crucial for the nation due to its limited natural resources and land scarcity. As a small island, Singapore generated approximately 6.86 million tonnes of solid waste in 2023, with only 52% recycled, amounting to 3.55 million tonnes, down from 57% the previous year. With the Semakau Landfill projected to reach capacity by 2035, adopting circular economy practices is essential to reduce waste and extend its lifespan.
Tan notes that CTM operates two material recycling facilities. The first handles communal waste, such as paper and plastics, while the second is dedicated to electronic and electrical waste. Together, these facilities process approximately two-thirds of what Singaporeans discard into the blue recycling boxes, known as “bloobins,” which are available islandwide and brought to CTM’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Sungei Kadut. At the MRF, CTM extracts materials for recycling into other products. For instance, plastic bottles can be recycled into polyester, while paper is recycled into jumbo toilet rolls for use at its sites.
For electronic and electrical waste, CTM partners with companies that have contracts for collection but lack recycling capabilities. Once the waste is collected, it is brought to the MRF, where CTM sorts and recycles up to 99% of the materials. Extracted materials include valuable elements such as silver, copper and even gold.
“Our preservation efforts extend beyond recycling. We actively engage in corporate social responsibility initiatives with local communities, schools and foreign partners. Through the National Environment Agency, foreign delegates visit our facilities to learn and share ideas. We are committed to raising awareness about sustainability and contributing to the circular economy,” says Tan.
Sharing his insights with fellow entrepreneurs, Tan highlights the importance of continuous evolution and the need to be more “daring”. He adds: “If you want to be successful, you can’t be complacent because the moment you are, others will catch up with you — and soon, you’ll find yourself at the back of the pack. That’s why our motto is always to stay ahead.”
