Singapore’s beverage container take-back scheme begins

SINGAPORE – A plan to encourage people to recycle their bottles and cans by putting them in a vending machine was installed on April 1, but it was difficult to find suitable containers in the market, checks by The Straits Times show.

Under the drinks container return scheme, customers pay a deposit of 10 cents for drinks in bottles or cans from 150ml to 3 litres. These dishes should have the deposit symbol – which includes the words “10c SG Return” in a round symbol – attached to them.

Money is returned to customers by their ez-link or DBS PayLah cards! patches after they unloaded the dishes to one of more than 1,000 Restore the right Machines island wide. Only containers with a deposit symbol can be returned to the machine.

But ST’s checks at about 20 shops, eateries and shops – including AMK Hub, Mayflower Market and Food Centre, and Parkway Parade – did not find any drink containers bearing the Singapore deposit symbol for sale.

However, logos for similar projects overseas were seen on many beverage containers, including Evian bottled water, Snapple juice and canned coconut water. These images cannot be returned in the sales channels.

Liquor store owners ST spoke to said they would not charge an extra 10 cents for containers without a Singapore deposit stamp. Supermarkets also did not charge 10-cent customer deposit at checkout.

However, people were seen trying to load containers without the required tag into the machine.

When ST visited the FairPrice Punggol Plaza store around 3.30pm on 1 April, a a person he was trying to return some used 1.5-liter bottles of Coca-Cola from the vending machine in the back.

The machine rejected the bottles as they were not loaded deposit mark, so the man threw away the bottles – which looked like they had been washed – in the trash can. He refused to speak to ST.

When asked about the availability of potable containers, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and project manager, BCRSsaid on the evening of April 1 that retailers were stocking their shelves with suitable containers.

The first shots were returned on the afternoon of April 1, but NEA and the operator did not disclose the number of dishes or what they were from.

ST understand that other Return Right machines in the central area, including Bukit Merah and Novena, have seen bins fall.

The lack of qualified containers in the market is not unexpected.

In January, NEA announced a six-month transition period between April and Sept 30 for beverage manufacturers and exporters to clear their existing stock without a deposit token.

This means that many of the dishes eligible for the 10-cent rebate will likely hit the shelves closer to the later part of the transition period, around August, the agency said earlier.

Ms Weng Xiuying, a seller of drinks at Sembawang Hills Food Centre, said she was informed by her suppliers that the drinks with the deposit mark would be delivered to her around October.

The project, first announced in 2020, aims to improve recycling rates in Singapore, with clean streams of plastic bottles and metal cans to be collected.

Singapore’s household recycling rate by 2024 has dropped to a record low of 11 percent. Overall, the country saw only 5 percent of its plastic waste recycled.

The aim is to make 60 percent of the bottles and cans in the market to be returned in the first year of the scheme. Within three years, the goal is to achieve an 80% return rate.

However, the implementation of this project was delayed twice.

In 2020, the NEA said the beverage container recycling project would be implemented in 2022. But that year, the agency said the planned start date for the project would be mid-2024.

In July 2024, it was reported that the project was delayed again until April 2026 at the request of the drink manufacturers, as they needed more time to adapt to the changes.

Ms Nurhasana, 38, a customer at the Sheng Siong Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 store, said: “The machines are already working, but the bottles don’t have a label yet, I don’t even know what the logo looks like.

The owner, who goes by one name, added: “Perhaps supermarkets should be more public about this project so that people know more about this program.”

Such a move was made by BCRS on the morning of April 1.

The program’s ambassadors were at Sheng Siong supermarket in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 to kick off a six-month island-wide program to inform residents about the recycling initiative.

At selected times, the road show will visit supermarkets in various locations including Tampines, Jurong, Toa Payoh and Serangoon.

Customers can log in online at https://returnright.sg to find the nearest machine to return their containers and redeem their 10-cent deposit. The site also displays the machine’s capacity level and hours of operation.

In order to help residents during the next six months, ambassadors will be present at designated vending machines on empty floors and supermarkets for one hour a day, for two days from Wednesday to Sunday.

Ambassador programs can be downloaded online at https://returnright.sg/p/static-map

Workshops will also be held for seniors at selected Active Aging Centers.

As part of Return the F&B Scheme to the rightsome restaurants and food and beverage establishments that offer food service will not charge customers a 10-cent deposit for drink containers.

These establishments, known as “Return Right F&B outlets”, have signs and discounts to help customers identify them. So far, more than 500 stores have signed up. These centers will process the returns.