5.5m bottles and cans returned under recycling scheme, with over one million successful refunds

Over four months, Singaporeans have returned a staggering 5.5 million used bottles and cans through reverse vending machines as part of the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS). Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary informed Parliament on August 5 that one million of these returns resulted in successful refunds of 10 cents each.

Consumers pay an extra 10 cents for each canned or bottled drink, which they can receive back when they drop off the used containers at these machines, also known as Return Right machines. These payments are made through ez-link cards or DBS PayLah! wallets. January Puthucheary stated that most transactions and returns at reverse vending machines have been successful, with the scheme operator BCRS addressing any issues that arose promptly.

When residents faced problems with their refunds, they had to send emails to receive their deposits. BCRS, a not-for-profit company funded by producer fees and recyclable sales, accounts for non-refunded deposits in its finances. The scheme is in its transition phase until September 30, when all bottles and cans must bear the 10-cent deposit mark.

After this date, small drink producers and importers might raise prices by 25 cents to 60 cents due to the added costs and logistics. Currently, all 1,070 reverse vending machines have been operational, ensuring that over 90% of HDB residents are within a five-minute walk of a blue return machine. In its first year, the goal is to have 60% of bottles and cans returned for recycling, and by the end of three years, the target is to reach an 80% return rate.