SINGAPORE: As the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) enters full implementation on Thursday (Oct 1), retailers across Singapore raced against the clock to pull unmarked drinks from shelves and restock their inventory with compliant products.
While major supermarket chains made it in time to replace the non-compliant stock on their shelves, some smaller heartland operators and provision stores have found themselves needing more time to refresh their inventories with drinks that bear the BCRS mark.
This comes despite a six-month transition period and steep fire sales to clear older stock before Oct 1.
To get more breathing room, more than 2,000 merchants – mostly provision shops, neighbourhood convenience stores and standalone food stores — applied for a one-month grace period which the National Environment Agency (NEA) announced less than two weeks before the deadline.
NEA on Tuesday said it had approved around 85 per cent of the more than 1,600 applications processed so far and is “expediting” the remaining ones.
Under the nationwide scheme, suppliers and producers charge a 10-cent (US$0.78) deposit on eligible metal and plastic drink containers. Consumers pay the deposit at purchase and can reclaim it by returning empty containers to Return Right reverse vending machines.
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