Those who wish to collect their two free reusable masks may do so from vending machines from Sept 21 till Oct 4, said Temasek Foundation yesterday in an update on its latest mask collection exercise.
Temasek Foundation, the social and charity arm of Singapore investment company Temasek, added that residents may collect masks on behalf of their family members and friends by bringing and scanning the barcodes of their respective government-issued IDs.
From 8am on Sunday, members of the public can go to this website to check on locations of the vending machines for each of the different mask types, as well as stock availability.
The latest nationwide mask distribution exercise was announced by Temasek chief executive and executive director Ho Ching on Wednesday night. Ms Ho had also said that masks could be pre-ordered online for a fee.
Giving more details yesterday, the foundation said that pre-orders can be made from Sunday till Oct 2 at the website or via the DBS PayLah app.
The foundation highlighted that pre-orders are subject to stock availability, and that there will be no direct sales or payment at the vending machines. The fee may be paid online using PayNow, credit cards or via the DBS PayLah app.
A unique QR code will be generated for each successful transaction, which will then be sent to the mobile number used for the order. Residents may then scan their unique pre-order QR code at the vending machines to redeem and collect their mask kits.
If the initial vending machine runs out of stock, or if they order different colours requiring collection at different machines, they can redeem the balance of their order from another machine.
Temasek Foundation said it was embarking on this second round of distribution due to the popularity of the reusable masks it distributed in June and July.
"Reusable masks are a useful and sustainable alternative to single-use disposable masks, which are highly pollutive for our environment if not disposed of correctly," it said, adding that since the outbreak, nearly 100 million disposable masks have been used each month globally.
The foundation added: "This is well over a billion annually. The environmental impact from the use and disposal of these masks can be greatly reduced if we can make the switch to reusable masks."
Temasek chairman Lim Boon Heng said: "Together with our partners, we will continue to find more ways to help our communities stay safe, including using the vending machine network to distribute useful items such as medical supplies, vitamins or food, in future."
