Containers bought outside S'pore not eligible for deposit refund under BCRS, even with label

Under the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS), containers purchased overseas are not registered under Singapore's system and are not eligible for deposit refund.

This is the case even if they carry a BCRS mark due to supplier mislabelling, BCRS Ltd. said.

Eligible beverages

Responding to Mothership's queries, it noted that it does not speculate on individual products or purchases without first verifying the specific barcode and product details.

This is because container eligibility is determined through registered product information within the system.

The national initiative applies only to eligible beverages retailed in Singapore, it said.

It added that the 10-cent BCRS deposit is only collected at the cashier or point of sale for these eligible beverage containers.

A netizen recently posted on social media that beverages in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, had labels apparently showing a deposit under the scheme, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

This then sparked online discussion about whether it was possible to get a refund in Singapore for beverages purchased in Johor Bahru.

Return Right Machines

In that regard, the Return Right machines cross-check every container against a live database of registered containers in Singapore, BCRS Ltd. said.

It pointed out that simply printing the BCRS Deposit Mark on an unregistered or overseas product will not allow a deposit refund, protecting the scheme's funds from fraudulent claims.

"If consumers encounter an uncrushed container carrying a Deposit Mark and intact barcode that is rejected by the Return Right machine, they are encouraged to contact [email protected] with a clear photo of the product, barcode, and purchase location so our team can verify the product details and assist accordingly," it added.

From Oct. 1

An earlier report mentioned that BCRS had kicked in fully from Oct. 1, 2026.

All plastic bottles and cans from 150ml to 3 litres cannot be sold, unless they have the 10-cent deposit mark.

Under the scheme, administered by the National Environment Agency (NEA), customers are charged 10 cents extra for each drink purchased.

They can get the 10 cents back when they deposit the used containers into a Return Right machine, which is a reverse vending machine.

Container needs to have deposit mark and barcode

More than 1,000 machines had become operational since Apr. 1, 2026.

The six-month transition period for producers and retailers to clear old stock ended on Sep. 30.

From Oct. 1, it is an offence to supply any regulated beverage if the container is not affixed with the BCRS deposit mark and a barcode.

Those found guilty can be fined up to S$10,000 and/ or jailed up to three months.

Non-labelled stock can be amended manually or with a labelling machine.