Drink prices hit by 10-cent deposit mandate

Starting April, every plastic and metal beverage container will include a mandatory refundable deposit.

Singapore’s new recycling scheme will add 10 cents to the cost of beverages, a charge consumers can reclaim by returning the containers at designated collection points.

Announced in December, the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) encompasses pre-packaged beverages in plastic and metal containers, ranging from 150 millilitres to 3 litres.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued a licence to Beverage Container Return Scheme Ltd. (BCRS Ltd.) on 29 July 2024 to design and operate the beverage container return scheme in Singapore. BCRS Ltd. is a not-for-profit company, incorporated by a consortium of beverage producers comprising Coca-Cola Singapore Beverages Pte. Ltd., F&N Foods Pte. Ltd. and Pokka Pte. Ltd. to collect, sort and recycle beverage containers.

All producers that import or manufacture covered beverage products must participate in the scheme. They would register as members with the scheme operator. They would also register their beverage products and pay fees (per container placed on the market) to the scheme operator to collect and recycle empty beverage containers on their behalf.

Beverage producers will pay for and run the collection and recycling of empty beverage containers.

The scheme will commence on 1 April 2026, with a transition period until 30 September 2026 for the beverage and retail industry to clear existing stocks which are not labelled with the scheme’s deposit mark.

During the transition period, both non-BCRS labelled and BCRS-labelled stocks can be sold, where the former will not have a 10-cent deposit whilst the latter will have a 10-cent deposit included.

An estimated 1,000 return points will be launched island-wide.

Meanwhile, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said in a Facebook post that for the majority of beverages sold in Singapore, producers were able to make the transition whilst minimising the impact, with producer fees of less than 5 cents.

“At the same time, we are mindful of the logistical and other challenges faced by some importers and producers, with smaller volume of beverages. To address these challenges, the producer-led scheme operator BCRS Ltd has been and is continuing to engage affected producers to explore more practical and flexible means to meet the scheme requirements. NEA is also exploring how we can assist small producers in making a smoother transition,” Puthucheary said.