TOYP Singapore 2017

Melissa Tan

Honouree · Moral & Environmental

Year

2017

Biography

Melissa Tan is the CEO and Director of Wah & Hua Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based waste management and recycling company founded in 1978 by her father, Steven Tan. She joined the family business straight out of school and has spent over two decades transforming it from a small traditional hauler into a technology-driven sustainable waste management enterprise — pioneering smart garbage trucks, reverse vending machines, and circular economy solutions. She is also the longtime Chairperson of the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS), serving three consecutive terms, and previously chaired the Asia Pacific Waste and Environmental Alliance (APWEA).

Achievements

Chairperson, Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) — led the national industry association across three consecutive terms, shaping policy engagement and industry standards in Singapore’s waste and recycling sector.
Chairperson, Asia Pacific Waste and Environmental Alliance (APWEA) — established and chaired a regional alliance to facilitate knowledge transfer and raise professional standards across the Asia-Pacific waste management industry.
Pioneer of smart waste technology in Singapore — introduced Germany’s solar-powered smart garbage trucks with e-ink screens, reverse vending machines for aluminium cans and plastic bottles, and robotic material separation for recyclables — all well ahead of the curve.
CEO & Director, ALBA W&H Smart City Pte Ltd — a joint venture with German multinational ALBA Group, developing an integrated waste-to-energy plant in Tuas and a state-of-the-art vertical facility with robotic material separation for recyclables.
Enterprise Singapore-supported regional expansion — working with EnterpriseSG to grow Wah & Hua’s sustainable waste solutions beyond Singapore into the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Invited speaker at national sustainability events, including the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s platform, where she advocated for Singapore’s Zero Waste Nation vision and circular economy model.
Pioneering tenant at JTC’s Kranji Green — Wah & Hua was among the first companies at this purpose-built industrial estate for the waste management sector, leveraging shared infrastructure and technology.

Same Category