But checks by ST at nearly 20 supermarkets, food centres and shops \u2013 including AMK Hub, Mayflower Market and Food Centre, and Parkway Parade \u2013 found no drink containers with the Singapore deposit mark on sale. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f5273ec0f5744ae8dc29a6eb18b9acedf89d1de5771a5c7c11380ad8df78f18d.webp\")
<\/p>\n
An Evian bottle bearing a foreign 10-cent return logo, designed for overseas recycling schemes.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: AUDREY TAN<\/p>\n
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<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, people were seen trying to deposit containers without the requisite mark into the machines. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n The machine rejected the bottles as they did not bear the deposit mark, so the man threw the bottles \u2013 which looked like they had been rinsed \u2013 into a rubbish bin. He declined to speak to ST. <\/p>\n The man threw the empty 1.5 litre Coca-Cola bottles into a rubbish bin after a reverse vending machine rejected the bottles.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LETITIA CHEN<\/p>\n Queried on the availability of eligible drink containers, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the scheme\u2019s operator, BCRS, said on the evening of April 1 that retailers are progressively stocking their shelves with eligible containers. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n ST understands that some Return Right machines in the central region, including Bukit Merah and Novena, saw containers dropped in. <\/p>\n The lack of eligible containers on the market is not unexpected. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n This means that most containers\u00a0eligible for\u00a0the 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Ms Weng Xiuying, owner of Shui Zhi Yuan drinks stall at Sembawang Hills Food Centre, said she has not received any beverages bearing the 10-cent return logo.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n The scheme, first announced in 2020, aims to improve Singapore\u2019s domestic recycling rate, with clean streams of plastic bottles and metal cans to be collected. <\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n The aim is to have 60 per cent of bottles and cans in the market returned within the scheme\u2019s first year. Within three years, the goal is to reach an 80 per cent return rate. <\/p>\n The implementation of the scheme, however, was delayed twice. <\/p>\n In 2020, NEA said the return scheme for drink containers would be implemented by 2022. But that year, the agency said the scheme\u2019s proposed start date would be by mid-2024.<\/p>\n In July 2024, it was reported that the\u00a0scheme was delayed again<\/a>\u00a0until April 2026 at the request of beverage producers, as they needed more time to adjust to the changes.<\/p>\n Ms Nurhasana, 38, a shopper at Sheng Siong supermarket in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, said: \u201cThe machines are up and running already. But the bottles do not have the logo yet. I\u2019m not even sure what the logo looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n The homemaker, who goes by one name, added: \u201cMaybe supermarkets should do more publicity on this scheme so that people can be more familiar with the programme.\u201d <\/p>\n Such an initiative was carried out by BCRS on the morning of April 1.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Ambassadors of the beverage container return scheme distributing flyers at Sheng Siong supermarket in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 as part of a six-month islandwide roadshow to inform residents about the recycling scheme.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n At selected times, the roadshow will go to supermarkets in various neighbourhoods including Tampines, Jurong, Toa Payoh and Serangoon. <\/p>\n Consumers can go online at https:\/\/returnright.sg<\/a><\/a> to find the nearest machine to return their containers and redeem their 10-cent deposits. The website also indicates the machines\u2019 capacity status and operating hours.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n The ambassadors\u2019 schedules can be downloaded online at https:\/\/returnright.sg\/p\/static-map<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n Workshops will also be held for seniors at selected Active Ageing Centres.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/389d1c4db83533a5a27331c2e5c5d10a0b9e7fbe96ef5ec86864fdfc4a3177fc.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ms](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/afb27a9a753ea181434e74b5cb5e4684c61f6cceea77bec0d336111fb0225f26.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ambassadors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dd4a27ba6f03300bf94ab7b03b91722266dab71926cfe3e61a3ef59935606157.webp\")
<\/p>\n