Forum: Beverage Container Return Scheme may be more trouble than it’s worth

While noble in intent, the Beverage Container Return Scheme introduces unnecessary friction.

Not all containers are clearly labelled, and requiring consumers to e-mail photos of rejected machine tickets, together with their personal details, to claim 10 cents raises data privacy concerns. It also penalises those who are less digitally or English-literate.  

The system also incurs heavy costs in manufacturing, powering and servicing thousands of reverse-vending machines islandwide. 

Instead of micromanaging consumer behaviour through financial incentives, Singapore should pivot towards centralised, artificial intelligence-driven sorting at primary waste facilities – similar to Sweden’s Site Zero facility, which uses advanced sensors to automatically sort up to 12 types of plastic.

Can we let technology do the heavy lifting instead? 

Cheong Wing Kiat