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Singapore Fights Waste: Cash for Bottles!
19 Mar
Summary
- Over 1,000 machines to launch April 1 for beverage container returns.
- Each returned plastic and metal container yields a 10 cent refund.
- Singapore's recycling rate fell to 50% in 2024, plastics at 5%.
Singapore is introducing a nationwide beverage container return scheme to improve its recycling efforts. Effective April 1, more than 1,000 machines will be deployed across the island, with plans to expand to 2,000 within the first year. Consumers will receive a refund of 10 Singapore cents for every plastic and metal container returned.
This initiative is a response to a significant drop in Singapore's overall recycling rate to 50% in 2024, the lowest in a decade. The rate for plastics has particularly suffered, standing at only 5%. The government aims to recover over one billion beverage containers annually, amounting to more than 16,000 tons of material that would otherwise be incinerated.
Globally, many governments are implementing similar waste reduction measures. South Korea established a container deposit program in 1985, and Sweden pioneered a similar plan for plastic bottles in Europe in 1994. Singapore faces challenges in meeting its target to reduce daily waste-to-landfill per capita by 20% by this year, with its Semakau landfill expected to reach capacity by 2035.
