S'pore man, 53, spends 2 to 3 hours a day looking for bottles & cans, collects close to S$2,000 in refunds since April
He once collected 400 cans and bottles in a day, which totals S$40 in deposit refunds.
A 53-year-old cleaning attendant in Singapore has spent two to three hours each day searching for bottles and cans under the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS), collecting nearly S$2,000 in deposit refunds since its launch in April. Zhang, who resides in Chinatown, utilizes his bicycle to collect recyclables outside of his work hours.
On weekends and days off, he may make up to three trips per day, visiting at least 10 waste bins each time. Zhang carefully cleans the area around the bins before moving on, and occasionally brings a bottle of water to wash his hands. Each can or bottle is worth a 10-cent deposit refund, leading him to gather about S$10 to S$30 daily.
At times, he has collected as many as 400 bottles in a single day, totaling around S$40 in refunds. Zhang finds the effort rewarding, as the refunds supplement his income and provide exercise. Collecting recyclables has become his primary source of income, surpassing the amount he would earn from selling them to waste collection companies.
One father-son duo at Golden Mile Food Centre reported collecting about S$200 to S$300 in deposits since BCRS began, though the son's father struggles to use the Return Right machines and relies on the son to transfer the money to his card.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
