If you have a ton of red packets lying around after Chinese New Year visiting, recycling them is always an option.

You can find over 40 recycling bins at various DBS/POSB outlets where you can drop off your angbaos.

This is a 30 per cent increase in the number of bins from last year, according to a press release from DBS.

The bins can be found at all full-service branches, as well as the following self-service branches.

• DBS Takashimaya
• DBS Raffles Place
• POSB Eastpoint
• DBS NEX
• POSB Woodland West
• POSB Yishun Central
• POSB Rivervale Plaza
• POSB Yew Tee Point
• POSB Hillion Mall
• POSB Jurong East Central

"This widespread placement ensures convenient drop-off points for those keen on recycling their used packets," DBS stated.

The bins are available all year round, so people can recycle their used packets from other festive occasions like weddings, Hari Raya and Deepavali as well.

The collected packets are then sent to homegrown recycler Tay Paper Recycling, where they will be recycled and repurposed into paper products such as cardboard boxes.

Find the nearest recycling bin to you here.

Red packet recycling

A spokesperson from Tay Paper Recycling previously shared with Mothership that fancy red packets with embellishments and decorations are harder to recycle compared to other papers.

The red dye used in red packets also complicates the recycling process.

As a result, the process of pulping red packets may be more labour intensive and costly, which may deter some paper mills from accepting red packets.

That said, there are still a few paper mills globally that take in red packets along with other types of paper.

Tay Paper Recycling exports red packets and other papers collected in Singapore to these paper mills.

If you would like to reduce your waste even further, you can consider digital alternatives, such as the DBS QR Ang Baos or eGifts.

Top photo from DBS