{"id":217191,"date":"2026-01-05T02:41:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T02:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/217191\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T02:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T02:41:13","slug":"singapores-beverage-container-return-scheme-to-kick-off-from-april-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/217191\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore’s beverage container return scheme to kick off from April 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

SINGAPORE \u2013 The <\/p>\n

beverage container return scheme<\/p>\n

<\/a> will kick off on April 1, but the transition period has been extended from three months to six following feedback from stakeholders, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said in a Facebook post on Jan 3. <\/p>\n

Under the scheme, consumers will pay an extra 10 cents for bottled and canned drinks ranging from 150ml to 3 litres, but will later receive a full refund of the deposit when they return empty beverage containers that carry the scheme\u2019s deposit mark at designated return points across the island. <\/p>\n

The extension of the transition period to Sept 30 means that while the scheme officially begins on April 1, most beverage containers that are eligible for the refundable 10-cent deposit are likely to hit the shelves only closer to the later part of the transition. <\/p>\n

Dr Janil noted that there are several stakeholders involved in the initiative, including scheme operator Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) Limited, a not-for-profit company formed by a consortium of beverage producers \u2013 comprising Coca-Cola Singapore Beverages, F&N Foods and\u00a0Pokka \u2013\u00a0that will oversee the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the National Environment Agency\u2019s (NEA) website, \u201cduring the transition period, both non-BCRS-labelled and BCRS-labelled stocks can be sold, where the former will not have a 10-cent deposit, while the latter will have a 10-cent deposit included\u201d. <\/p>\n

An <\/p>\n

earlier announcement had said there would be a transition period until June 30<\/p>\n

<\/a> to allow the beverage and retail industry to clear older stocks, which are ineligible for refunds. <\/p>\n

More than 1,000 return points will be located at supermarkets and in communal areas. <\/p>\n

In his Facebook post, Dr Janil, who is also Senior Minister of State for Education, called the scheme a \u201csignificant step towards Singapore\u2019s circular economy goals, encouraging the recycling of beverage containers like metal cans and plastic bottles\u201d. <\/p>\n

The scheme is expected to run for seven years until March 31, 2033. <\/p>\n

Dr Janil said feedback was given that the original three-month transition period may not be enough for companies to clear their existing beverage stocks. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn response, we\u2019ve extended the transition period to six months \u2013 spanning April 1 to Sept 30,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, BCRS will share more details on the scheme with the public. <\/p>\n

These include spotting the scheme\u2019s mark on beverage containers and where to return these empty containers. <\/p>\n

Dr Janil added that there will be more outreach and engagement with all producers, retailers and food and beverage outlets during this time to raise awareness of the scheme. <\/p>\n

The launch of the scheme comes after a few delays. <\/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\u00a0<\/p>\n

scheme was delayed again<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0until April 2026 at the request of beverage producers, as they needed more time to adjust to the changes. <\/p>\n

In his Facebook post, Dr Janil urged the public to \u201cmake this change happen, one container at a time\u201d, and reminded Singaporeans that every returned container makes a difference for future generations.<\/p>\n

RecyclingEnvironmental issuesNational Environment AgencyJanil Puthucheary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE \u2013 The beverage container return scheme will kick off on April 1, but the transition period has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-217191","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}