Janil Puthucheary says some BCRS refund failures are due to users being unfamiliar, over 95% of transactions refunded on the spot

More than 95 per cent of transactions at Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) reverse vending machines were refunded on the spot as of October 2026.

A considerable proportion of unsuccessful transactions appeared to be due to users being unfamiliar with the refund process, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary in Parliament on Nov. 4.

He was responding to questions from MP Lee Hong Chuang about unsuccessful refunds at reverse vending machines and measures to improve the refund process.

Refund processing time reduced to 10 working days

Since Oct. 1, scheme operator BCRS Ltd has been progressively rolling out a digital refund portal to streamline the processing of unsuccessful refunds.

Instead of emailing the company, users can access a pre-filled online form through a QR code to submit their personal details and request a manual refund.

Under the new process, refunds are expected to be made within 10 working days, down from 13 working days previously.

Authorities may consider further penalties

Lee also asked what safeguards would protect consumers who had returned their beverage containers but encountered machine or system errors, and whether there would be a mechanism for immediate manual verification and resolution.

He also asked whether service standards would be established for machine reliability, maintenance and refund processing times, and whether penalties or other corrective measures would be imposed if these standards were not met.

In response, Janil said BCRS Ltd was already subject to service and reporting standards covering availability and reliability.

He added that the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) would continue working with the operator to improve its processes, including those involving refunds.

The authorities would also consider introducing further penalties if necessary.