Over 2,000 apply for BCRS grace period; 85% of processed applications approved: NEA

Over 2,000 owners of neighbourhood convenience stores, family-run provision shops, and non-profit organisations (NPO) have applied for a grace period — till Oct 31 — to clear their remaining stock of non-Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) labelled beverages.

Providing an update on Tuesday (Sept 29) after applications opened on Sept 18, the National Environment Agency (NEA) stated that it has received over 2,000 applications as of 9am on Sept 29.

It added that the applications were mostly from smaller retailers such as provision shops, neighbourhood convenience stores, and standalone food shops.

"We have approved around 85 per cent of the over 1,600 applications processed so far. NEA is expediting the processing of the remaining applications, which are mainly those which were recently submitted," it said.

Explaining how it reviews the applications, NEA said it takes into account various factors.

These include: the nature of the business, the number of outlets owned by the company, the applicants' existing stock of non-BCRS labelled products, their ability to clear their existing stock by Sept 30, and their efforts and plans to deplete the existing stocks.

NEA said the grace period was introduced in recognition that some smaller retailers and NPOs had made genuine efforts and plans to deplete their stock of non-BCRS-labelled beverages but required more time for the transition.

In approving the grace period, some retailers have also been reminded not to bring in any new stock that is not BCRS-labelled, and to indicate clearly to their customers that the stock being sold is not subject to the 10-cent deposit.

Those who had their application rejected were reminded to clear all remaining non-BCRS-labelled stock by Sept 30.

The agency also reminded smaller retailers who have not applied for the grace period, but are facing continued challenges clearing off their remaining stock, to submit their applications by Sept 30.

"NEA will assess each submission based on the retailer’s circumstances and notify applicants of the outcome," it added.

NPOs who require the grace period are also encouraged to submit their applications by Sept 30.

Those who are granted the extension may continue to receive and distribute donated non-BCRS-labelled beverage stock to their beneficiaries till Oct 31.

However, they are not allowed to sell any non-BCRS-labelled beverages.

The grace period was first announced by NEA on Sept 18.

"We want to make sure no one is left behind as we take this step towards a more sustainable Singapore," said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary in a social media post that day.

When the BCRS was launched on April 1, a six-month transition period was introduced to allow producers and retailers sufficient time to progressively replace their stocks with BCRS-labelled beverages.

Under the scheme, all plastic bottles and cans from 150ml to 3 litres must be labelled with the 10-cent deposit mark from Oct 1, or they cannot be sold.

Customers pay an extra 10 cents for each drink purchased under the scheme and receive the money back when they deposit the used containers into a reverse vending machine, also called a Return Right machine.

About 1,070 machines have been deployed since April 1, with over 90 per cent of HDB residents within a five-minute walk of a reverse vending machine, in addition to those located at larger supermarkets.

Another 300 machines are set to be deployed in areas outside the initial rollout zone, including industrial estates, Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), and other places of interest.

Earlier in August, the scheme's operator introduced changes to the user interface and a longer refund timeout window on the machines to improve customer experience.

The scheme has handled over a million transactions, with 5.5 million beverage containers returned as at August.

From Oct 1, it will be an offence for anyone, including supermarket operators, to supply any regulated beverage if the container is not affixed with the scheme's deposit mark and a barcode.

超过 2000 家社区便利店、家庭杂货店和非营利组织 (NPO) 的店主申请了宽限期（至 10 月 31 日），以清理其剩余的非饮料容器回收计划 (BCRS) 标签的饮料库存。

国家环境局 (NEA) 在 9 月 18 日开放申请后，于周二（9 月 29 日）发布最新消息称，截至 9 月 29 日上午 9 点，已收到 2000 多份申请。

报告还指出，这些申请大多来自小型零售商，例如杂货店、社区便利店和独立食品店。

“我们目前已批准了1600多份申请中的约85%。国家环境局正在加快处理剩余的申请，这些申请主要是最近提交的。”该机构表示。

国家环境局在解释其审核申请的方式时表示，会考虑各种因素。

这些因素包括：企业的性质、公司拥有的门店数量、申请人现有的非 BCRS 标签产品的库存、他们在 9 月 30 日之前清理现有库存的能力，以及他们为清空现有库存所做的努力和计划。

新加坡国家环境局表示，引入宽限期是为了承认一些小型零售商和非营利组织已经做出了真正的努力和计划来清空其未贴有BCRS标签的饮料库存，但需要更多时间进行过渡。

在批准宽限期的同时，一些零售商也被提醒不要引进任何没有 BCRS 标签的新库存，并向顾客明确表示所售库存无需缴纳 10 分钱的押金。

申请被拒绝的人被提醒在 9 月 30 日之前清理所有剩余的非 BCRS 标签库存。

该机构还提醒尚未申请宽限期但仍在努力清理剩余库存的小型零售商，应在 9 月 30 日前提交申请。

“国家环境局将根据零售商的具体情况评估每份申请，并将结果通知申请人，”该机构补充道。

鼓励需要宽限期的非营利组织在 9 月 30 日前提交申请。

获得延期的机构可以继续接收和分发捐赠的非 BCRS 标签饮料库存给受益人，直至 10 月 31 日。

但是，他们不得出售任何未贴有 BCRS 标签的饮料。

国家环境局 (NEA) 于 9 月 18 日首次宣布了这一宽限期。

“我们希望确保在迈向更可持续发展的新加坡的这一步中，没有人掉队，”新加坡永续发展与环境部高级政务部长贾尼尔·普图切里当天在社交媒体上发帖表示。

BCRS 于 4 月 1 日推出时，引入了六个月的过渡期，以便生产商和零售商有足够的时间逐步用贴有 BCRS 标签的饮料替换他们的库存。

根据该计划，从 10 月 1 日起，所有 150 毫升至 3 升的塑料瓶和罐都必须贴上 10 分的押金标签，否则将不能出售。

根据该计划，顾客每购买一杯饮料需额外支付 10 美分，并将用过的容器投入反向自动售货机（也称为退货机）后取回这笔钱。

自 4 月 1 日以来，已部署了约 1070 台机器，超过 90% 的组屋居民步行五分钟即可到达一台反向自动售货机，此外，大型超市内也设有反向自动售货机。

另有 300 台机器将部署在最初推广区域以外的地区，包括工业园区、高等院校和其他感兴趣的地方。

8 月初，该计划的运营商对用户界面进行了更改，并延长了机器的退款超时时间，以改善客户体验。

该计划已处理超过一百万笔交易，截至 8 月，已退回 550 万个饮料容器。

从 10 月 1 日起，任何人（包括超市经营者）如果供应的受管制饮料容器上没有贴有该计划的押金标记和条形码，都将构成违法行为。