Singapore’s Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) will commence on 1st April 2026. Drinks will be required to display a deposit mark and readable barcode to be returned for recycling, with the government targeting an 80% return rate by 2028.
Under the new scheme, a 10-cent refundable deposit will be applied to all pre-packaged beverages in plastic and metal containers ranging from 150 millilitres to 3 litres in size.
This will encompass all pre-packaged drinks in containers of any shape, but will exclude freshly prepared beverages and foods for special medical purposes.
If a consumer returns their container to a designated return point, such as a reverse vending machine, their deposit will be fully refunded.
Supermarkets with a floor area exceeding 200m2 will be required to set up return points. Reportedly, the Singaporean government is exploring the potential of establishing return points in community spaces like town centres and community clubs.
Products with a deposit mark can be sold to consumers from the commencement date on 1st April, but there will be a transition period where ‘old’ products without the BCRS deposit mark can be sold alongside BCRS-regulated packaging.
While the original cut-off date was set at 30th June 2026, the transition period has since been extended until 30th September, effective as of 19th December 2025.
Full implementation will take place from 1st October 2026, at which point only products carrying the deposit mark can be sold on the Singaporean market.
By introducing the scheme, the Singaporean government aims to increase the country’s recycling rate for beverage containers and aggregate clean, high-quality recyclate for use in new products.
Additionally, it hopes to decrease the number of beverage containers entering landfill, bring down carbon emissions across the country, and reduce overall reliance on virgin materials with an Extended Producer Responsibility approach.
Aiming to achieve a deposit return rate of 80% by the scheme’s third year, scheme operator BCRS Ltd. must now establish over 1,000 ‘conveniently placed’ return points and ensure end-to-end management for the returned beverage containers.
It is also required to provide fair, transparent, and equitable fees for stakeholders, and to implement data protection systems to protect against data loss, unauthorised access, modification, disclosure, and misuse.
Producers will be required to register with BCRS Ltd. to become members. They will be expected to record and provide the name, type, number of units, volume and form of each beverage product they sell, alongside the materials and weight of every beverage container.
Elsewhere in the world, Portugal is also expected to launch its national deposit return scheme for single-use beverage packaging this year. With non-profit SDR Portugal acting as scheme administrator and waste management company Sensoneo as IT solution provider, estimates suggest that Portugal could operate between 7,000 and 10,000 collection points.
Meanwhile, Reloop recently unveiled a new fact sheet walking businesses through its idea of a successful deposit return system. It names system scope, refund value, and convenience and accessibility as key features, and explores the social, economic, and practical factors that can influence return rates.
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