Retiree puzzled after 20 deposit-marked 100Plus cans rejected; BCRS says it's an isolated incident

After accumulating close to 20 100Plus drink cans, a retiree tried to recycle them at a Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) machine.

To his bewilderment, he was repeatedly rejected by two machines.

The 76-year-old man, surnamed Wu, told Shin Min Daily News that he visited two reverse vending machines at Blocks 165 and 144 Tampines Street 12 on Oct 14.

Despite the containers bearing the deposit mark, neither machine could process them.

"I tried several times, but it was always the same even if I used another container," he lamented.

Unable to receive his 10-cent deposit refund, Wu brought his cans back home.

About two weeks later, he contacted Shin Min to share that he was finally able to recycle some cans when he visited one of the machines again on Oct 26.

The scheme's operator told Shin Min that its investigations determined that the error was an isolated incident caused by a recent system update which affected its identification means.

The machines have since been serviced and are now operating normally.

98% of Sept transactions refunded immediately

In a written parliamentary reply on Oct 6, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the proportion of successful BCRS transactions has been increasing, with around 98 per cent of transactions refunded immediately in September.

For the "small proportion" of eligible containers rejected, reasons include improper deposit behaviour or occasional machine faults.

She added that BCRS has been improving the user interface for refunds and working on public education efforts, which helped reduce the proportion of unsuccessful returns.

"Members of the public who have failed in getting their refunds at the RVMs may use the refund portal rolled out by BCRS Ltd," Fu wrote.

They may also email BCRS at [email protected] with details of the failed transaction for further assistance.

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