Singapore’s building industry is taking steps to green itself, with the opening on Wednesday of a new plant which will recycle used copper slag to make concrete.

The plant by Geocycle Singapore can process 360,000t of collected copper slag from local shipyards, which will be a substitute for sand in making ready-mixed concrete.

The Sungei Kadut facility will also function as a research and development centre for alternative and eco-friendly building materials.

It is a joint venture firm by cement maker Holcim Singapore and local recycling firm ecoWise, which have equal stakes.