Day 1 of S’pore’s beverage container return scheme kicks in but eligible bottles, cans hard to find

SINGAPORE - A scheme to encourage people to recycle their bottles and cans by depositing them in reverse vending machines kicked in on April 1, but eligible containers were difficult to find on the market, checks by The Straits Times showed.

Under the beverage container return scheme, consumers pay a 10-cent deposit for bottled or canned drinks that range from 150ml to 3 litres. These containers should have a deposit mark – which includes the words “10c SG Return” in a circular logo – affixed to them.

The deposit is refunded to customers via their ez-link cards or DBS PayLah! wallets after they drop off the containers at one of the more than 1,000 Return Right machines islandwide. Only containers with the deposit mark can be returned at the machines.

But checks by ST at nearly 20 supermarkets, food centres and shops – including AMK Hub, Mayflower Market and Food Centre, and Parkway Parade – found no drink containers with the Singapore deposit mark on sale.

However, logos for similar schemes overseas were seen on a number of beverage containers, including Evian bottled water, Snapple juices and canned coconut water. These containers cannot be returned at the vending machines.

Drink stall owners whom ST spoke to said they will not charge an additional 10 cents for containers without the Singapore deposit mark. Supermarkets also did not levy the 10-cent deposit on shoppers at check-out.

However, people were seen trying to deposit containers without the requisite mark into the machines.

When ST visited a FairPrice outlet at Punggol Plaza around 3.30pm on April 1, a man was trying to return a few 1.5-litre used Coca-Cola bottles at a reverse vending machine.

The machine rejected the bottles as they did not bear the deposit mark, so the man threw the bottles – which looked like they had been rinsed – into a rubbish bin. He declined to speak to ST.

Queried on the availability of eligible drink containers, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the scheme’s operator, BCRS, said on the evening of April 1 that retailers are progressively stocking their shelves with eligible containers.

The first containers were returned on the afternoon of April 1, but NEA and the operator did not disclose the number of containers or which beverage brands they were from.

ST understands that some Return Right machines in the central region, including Bukit Merah and Novena, saw containers dropped in.

The lack of eligible containers on the market is not unexpected.

In January, NEA announced a six-month transition period between April and Sept 30 for drink producers and importers to clear their existing stock without the deposit mark.

This means that most containers eligible for the 10-cent refund are likely to hit the shelves only closer to the later part of the transition period, around August, the agency said previously.

Ms Weng Xiuying, a drink stall operator at Sembawang Hills Food Centre, said she was informed by her suppliers that drinks with the deposit mark will be delivered to her close to October.

The scheme, first announced in 2020, aims to improve Singapore’s domestic recycling rate, with clean streams of plastic bottles and metal cans to be collected.

Singapore’s household recycling rate in 2024 fell to a record low of 11 per cent. Overall, the country saw only 5 per cent of its plastic waste recycled.

The aim is to have 60 per cent of bottles and cans in the market returned within the scheme’s first year. Within three years, the goal is to reach an 80 per cent return rate.

The implementation of the scheme, however, was delayed twice.

In 2020, NEA said the return scheme for drink containers would be implemented by 2022. But that year, the agency said the scheme’s proposed start date would be by mid-2024.

In July 2024, it was reported that the scheme was delayed again until April 2026 at the request of beverage producers, as they needed more time to adjust to the changes.

Ms Nurhasana, 38, a shopper at Sheng Siong supermarket in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, said: “The machines are up and running already. But the bottles do not have the logo yet. I’m not even sure what the logo looks like.”

The homemaker, who goes by one name, added: “Maybe supermarkets should do more publicity on this scheme so that people can be more familiar with the programme.”

Such an initiative was carried out by BCRS on the morning of April 1.

Ambassadors of the programme were at the Sheng Siong supermarket in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 to start a six-month islandwide roadshow to inform residents about the recycling scheme.

At selected times, the roadshow will go to supermarkets in various neighbourhoods including Tampines, Jurong, Toa Payoh and Serangoon.

Consumers can go online at https://returnright.sg to find the nearest machine to return their containers and redeem their 10-cent deposits. The website also indicates the machines’ capacity status and operating hours.

To assist residents over the next six months, ambassadors will be present at selected reverse vending machines at void decks and supermarkets for an hour a day, on two of the days from Wednesday to Sunday.

The ambassadors’ schedules can be downloaded online at https://returnright.sg/p/static-map

Workshops will also be held for seniors at selected Active Ageing Centres.

As part of the Return Right F&B scheme, some restaurants and food and beverage establishments with dine-in services will not charge customers the 10-cent deposit for beverage containers.

These establishments, known as “Return Right F&B outlets”, have signs and decals to help customers identify them. To date, more than 500 outlets have signed up. These outlets will handle the returns.