SINGAPORE – When Mr Lee Chee Huei brought a big bag of cans and bottles for recycling to a reverse vending machine outside Tampines Mall in January, he was disappointed to find that the machine was full.

It was his third time encountering a collection machine in the Tampines area that was full or not working over the past two years.

The 42-year-old, who is a member of the Citizens’ Workgroup that proposed a beverage container return scheme in 2019, said any issues or inconvenience will hinder people from supporting a return scheme.

“The return scheme needs to be implemented seamlessly to avoid any hassle for the public. One or two troublesome experiences could demoralise people from recycling.

“And the public needs to be educated to use the machines properly. I did observe people throwing paper containers into the machine, which caused it to malfunction,” said Mr Lee.

When the proposed beverage container return scheme kicks in nationwide by mid-2024, drinks in bottles and cans are expected to cost 10 cents to 20 cents more.

But the money can be redeemed when the empty containers are returned for recycling.

This could be done through manual return counters and reverse vending machines, which will guzzle up the recyclables. The refund will likely be in the form of cash or digital transfer.

Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, who chairs the Circular Economy Taskforce at the National University of Singapore, said instructions on returning bottles and getting the refunds must be clear and easy to understand.

At the initial stage, volunteers or staff should also be around to help the public get familiar with the machines, he added.

Singapore’s domestic recycling rate was 13 per cent in 2021, a 10-year low. That year, only 6 per cent of plastic waste disposed of was recycled.

About 40 per cent of the contents found in the blue recycling bins cannot be recycled due to contamination from food and liquid waste, tissue paper and other items, the National Environment Agency (NEA) had said previously.

Experts say the nationwide return scheme will help ensure a clean stream of good-quality plastic bottles and aluminium cans that can be recycled. Most plastic recyclables are currently exported overseas.

The scheme could also develop Singapore’s recycling sector and lead to new green jobs.

Prof Seeram, who is also chairman of the Plastics Recycling Centre of Excellence at the Plastics Recycling Association of Singapore, said the association has been studying the feasibility of setting up a plastic recycling plant here.

It could turn used PET plastic containers into new bottles and longer-lasting materials.

Prof Seeram said a market for recycled plastics needs to be established.

“Singapore is well-placed to have start-ups and demo pilot plants for developing local expertise in the green recycling of aluminium and glass, for example.  

“This involves material innovations, as well as employing renewable energy to the recycling processes,” he added.

Meanwhile, more smart collection machines have been set up across Singapore in the run-up to the scheme’s launch.

Beverage companies and retailers, among other players, have been working with the authorities in designing the return scheme.

For example, waste management firm Alba W&H Smart City has installed up to five reverse vending machines in Jurong since 2021.

Currently, the machines collect about 1,200 used cans and bottles each day, and at places with higher footfall, the machines get cleared up to twice a day, said an Alba spokesman.

The machines have been deployed in places such as Yuhua Market and Hawker Centre and Pioneer Mall. Alba’s machines dispense points that can be used to redeem shopping vouchers.

Since December 2022, Norwegian reverse vending machine firm Tomra has been testing one of its machines at Changi Airport Terminal 3. In a few weeks, the firm will set up another model at Punggol 21 Community Club.

Ms Bing Zhao, Tomra’s vice-president and head of collection for Asia, said: “We will test one or two more models on their suitability in Singapore.

“Via these projects, we hope to achieve a higher level of public awareness on the return scheme.”

Tomra – which supports existing return schemes in more than 40 markets globally – is also working on a proposal that outlines what Singapore’s drink container collection network could look like.

And in a larger initiative between NEA and F&N Foods since 2019, about 50 reverse vending machines have been set up in malls, sports centres, schools and other public places.

Users receive vouchers and rewards for every 10 bottles or cans dropped off. Since the launch, more than 13 million bottles and cans have been collected.

The beverage container return scheme will be the first of future measures to tackle the scourge of packaging waste – with more than one billion packaged drinks brought into the market here yearly – and help raise Singapore’s domestic recycling rate. The upcoming scheme is among several proposed amendments to the Resource Sustainability Act tabled in Parliament in early February.

It could require 400 supermarkets larger than 200 sq m to set up return points.

Community clubs, hawker centres and shopping malls may have them as well. 

Putting a refundable price on drink containers has proved to be successful in many places, including Norway, Sweden, Germany and Australian states such as New South Wales.

Before Lithuania started its return scheme in 2016, only 34 per cent of PET bottles were recycled. By 2018, the figure rose to 92 per cent.

Lithuanian resident and communications expert Rita Griniene, 32, said her family had to adapt when the scheme was introduced in her country.

But it helped that the Baltic nation already had a beer bottle return-for-cash initiative – a financial recourse for homeless people and children who wanted pocket money.

“My family has to allocate more space for used drink containers in our home. At the beginning, it can be frustrating if the machine is broken or if there is a long queue. At larger shopping malls, it could be very time-consuming to find a return point,” she added.

But eventually, it became a monthly routine for the family to drop off five to six bags of cans, and plastic and glass bottles at a reverse vending machine before grocery shopping.

Ms Griniene said: “Now I am looking forward to more containers being part of the system, such as wine bottles and jars.”