A Swedish producer of vending machines for returnable bottles and cans is planning to set up a base in Singapore by the 3rd quarter of 2022, to support the country’s ambition of encouraging Singaporeans to adopt an eco-conscious lifestyle through recycling.
The company, RVM Systems, plans to install a large number of its reverse vending machines in the tiny island nation including one that can swallow 100 containers at a time. So far, more than 50 machines have already been rolled out by the National Environment Agency and F&N Foods since 2019. These machines also offered incentives like shopping rewards and ActiveSG credits to encourage Singaporeans to recycle. Currently, more than 10 million bottles and cans have been collected by the machines.
However, in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, domestic recycling rate plunged by 13%. As Singapore is renewing its push on recycling, it is developing a return policy for beverage containers where a deposit is included in the price of the drink. A consumer receives a refund when the used bottles and cans are returned. Singapore will be the first country in Asia to have such a return scheme for beverage containers.
Ulf Wennblom, Area Manager of Asia-Pacific for RVM Systems suggested that the deposit on each bottle and can should be between 10 cents and 25 cents, depending on the size of the container. The deposit and price of the drink should be stated separately on a price tag. He also recommended that these machines be placed conveniently near stores and supermarkets to increase usage.
This return scheme using reverse vending originated in the Nordic region where recycling used bottles and cans has become part of the community’s daily routine. Norway started this scheme in the 1990s, and now has a return rate of 95%. Deposit refund schemes are partially financed by the producers and importers of drink containers.
