A bottle costs 10 cents. Singapore will gradually implement a refund system for beverage bottles starting in April! Where can I find recycling machines?

Singapore has been implementing a beverage bottle recycling rebate scheme since April. SG Recycle, the sole operator of recycling machines under this program, has supplied over 380 units, primarily deployed in the western and northern districts. Approximately 200 of these machines have already been installed in Jurong, Golden Valley, Sam Poong, and Yishun.

 The beverage bottle recycling initiative is managed by the non-profit organization BCRS, with approximately 1,000 recycling machines to be deployed across the island initially. According to Cooperation morning news, the social enterprise Green Nudge, commissioned by BCRS, plans to visit multiple communities to educate seniors on environmental awareness and the operation of recycling machines, aiming to garner widespread public support.

 SG Recycle held a press conference on March 11 to showcase its recycling machines to the media.

 The company's founder and CEO, Huang Jinyin (43), said in an interview that the company's more than 380 reverse vending machines were produced in Guangzhou by China partners and have now all arrived in Singapore. They are being gradually installed in public housing areas in the north and west, as well as near catering establishments of a certain scale. They will be officially put into operation on April 1st along with recycling machines in other regions.

He did not disclose the production costs of these recycling machines, but told Cooperation morning news: 'The production costs are high... We aim to turn a profit within two years.'

He explained that the company had sold around 60 similar-function recycling machines to Austria and Poland since October last year. However, the Singapore-based machines will be operated through a leasing model, where SG Recycle will lease them to BCRS.

When the public deposits bottles and cans that meet recycling standards into the machines, they can reclaim a 10-cent deposit via DBS Bank's e-wallet PayLah! or EZ-link. Each machine can hold up to 1,000 empty bottles and cans. When the capacity approaches full, the machine will notify Virogreen Global Logistics, a resource recycling company, through its internal sensors and network, and send personnel to empty the machine.

 Yin Jin, a product engineering graduate from Temasek Polytechnic, founded a recycling company in 2021 with a friend's investment after witnessing the hardships faced by older waste collectors. The company now employs around ten people.

 In addition to reverse vending machine, SG Recycle showcased various waste recycling devices for plastics, metals, and paper at its warehouse that day. The company also announced a partnership with environmental services firm 800 Super Holdings to deploy over 250 smart recycling machines within two years in locations including Hongmaoqiao, Daba Yao, Pasir Ris, and Wulu.

 Under the beverage bottle and can refund scheme, two other recycling operators—Norwegian waste sorting and recycling solutions provider TOMRA and Swedish company RVM Systems—operate recycling machines in central and eastern regions respectively.

Social enterprises enter communities to introduce the use of the elderly

Li Zesun, a partner at Green Guide, told our newspaper that to promote this eco-friendly initiative, BCRS has assigned Green Guide staff to visit communities. They demonstrate recycling machine usage to seniors through hands-on demonstrations, with special focus on refund procedures.

 We want to inform seniors that the recycling machine uses electronic refunds and also has an EasyPass feature. Many older adults still prefer cash, but they are also familiar with the EasyPass used on public transport.

 The elderly showed mixed reactions to the beverage bottle recycling program. Ye Jinxing, a 70-year-old retiree, after hearing the reporter explain the recycling machine's functions, remarked that it was rather troublesome and would rather forfeit the 10-cent deposit.

 Yet 72-year-old Chen Ruihua welcomes the initiative: 'A dime is still money. While the wealthy might not care, I'll definitely use this recycling machine.'