News
Man criticises town council workers for participating in BCRS scheme, gets swift backlash
The town council clarified that the containers they were returning were from their own purchases.
November 03, 2026, 12:15 PM
Photo from jiatong888/TikTok
A man filmed two conservancy workers in a Marine Parade-Braddell Heights estate returning cans and bottles at a Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) return machine.
He then accused them of obtaining the cans from waste bins and criticised them for earning a "double salary".
Backlash came swiftly after, with netizens calling him "kaypoh" (nosey).
The town council later clarified that the workers were returning beverage containers they had collected themselves.
The video
On Oct. 29, TikTok user jiatong888 posted a video of the two workers at the BCRS machine.
A voice can be heard admonishing the two workers while they were returning their drink containers.
It said, "You see town council people ah, they can take the rubbish ah, the can ah, and [collect] the money ah.
"But other people, old man cannot take. You see what the government is doing."
The workers largely ignored him and continued with their returns.
He wrote in the caption:
"#TinPeiLin why the govt say old ppl cannot take cans from rubbish bins but the town council ppl can? They r taking salary from the govt yet they take the refund money from the cans taken from the rubbish bins!! That's mean they r taking double salary? I just wan to know whether is it a double standard to normal citizens n those working for the govt? In the video u can see the town council ppl still smiling! Is it they r sarcastic or happy waiting to receive the refund money from the cans?? (sic)"
It was previously reported that there were cases of individuals rummaging through rubbish bins to look for bottles and cans to obtain the 10-cent BCRS refund.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said that those found doing so could face legal action.
Backlash
However, online users defended the two workers, with many calling him "kaypoh" for filming and posting the video.
They pointed out that migrant workers, such as the ones in the video, already earned a meagre salary, and called for greater sympathy on the poster's part.
Others also said that he should be grateful as the conservancy workers were the ones keeping his estate clean.
Town council's response
Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Town Council later made a Facebook post on Nov. 1 to respond to the situation.
In the caption, it wrote: "To clarify, the workers were depositing containers from their own purchases, with some also given to them directly by residents."
The post also clarified that they were doing so after working hours.
The council noted that workers are aware that they are not permitted to rummage through trash to retrieve such items, and have advised them to change out of their work uniforms when carrying out personal BCRS returns so as to avoid misunderstandings.
It stressed that as members of the community, conservancy workers can participate in the BCRS recycling scheme just like anyone else, adding that the conservancy workers "play an important role in keeping our neighbourhoods clean."
