A different
breed of vending machine is set to make a resurgence here - rather
than dispensing drinks, it is hungry for empty drink cans and
plastic bottles.
This "reverse
vending machine" swallows such offerings and, in return, spits out
money or coupons that can be used for food and drinks.
Distributor
Incon Green Singapore has one machine in operation in Admiralty,
and has ambitious plans to install 500 across the island in five
years in foodcourts, shopping malls, schools, office buildings and
even supermarkets.
"The idea is
to make it convenient for people to recycle, and to incentivise
them to do so," explained the firm's managing director Jack
Lee.
The local
company, which has partnered Chinese firms Incom Recycle and Incom
Tomra Recycling Technology (Beijing), is already in talks with some
25 organisations - such as the Singapore Sports School and
Singapore Zoo.
The firms make
money by selling their vending machines and recycling the items
collected, and have successfully set up 14,000 in China and many
more worldwide together with Norwegian maker Tomra.
Local
waste-management firms buy 1kg of PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
plastic bottles for five cents, and the same weight of drink cans
for 20 cents, which are then sold to overseas recycling firms.
But in
Singapore, such machines have failed to make their mark, despite
being tried out as early as 2009, then by supermarket chain NTUC
FairPrice, which had three at its outlets. They are no longer
there.
42 Average number of cans and bottles that are
deposited daily into the reverse vending machine at [email protected] Place.
20¢ Rebate, in the form of a foodcourt discount
coupon, customers will get for each APB can. Non-APB cans or
bottles will get a 10-cent coupon.
3¢ Cash rebate that customers will get for each
can or bottle after the trial period.
1.7m Tonnes of domestic waste generated by
Singapore last year.
Ms Melissa
Tan, general manager of waste-management firm Wah & Hua, said
they had placed one such machine outside a cinema in 2013 but it
was vandalised after a few months. "People did use it to recycle
their used plastic drink bottles in exchange for cinema vouchers.
However, I feel awareness of the importance of recycling and civic
consciousness still need to be enhanced," said Ms Tan, who is
chairman of the Waste Management and Recycling Association of
Singapore.
To persuade
consumers to go green, beer producer Asia Pacific Breweries (APB)
Singapore has partnered foodcourt operator NTUC Foodfare
at [email protected] Place to offer rebates. Each
can produced by APB Singapore earns a 20-cent discount coupon at
the foodcourt, and any other can or bottle earns a 10-cent coupon.
The incentive is given by APB Singapore and lasts only till the end
of next month.
Incon Green
will give out cash rebates of three cents per can or bottle for its
other machines. It plans to eventually credit the money into users'
ez-link card.
Madam Lau Hong
Eng, 63, who works at a food stall, uses the machine regularly now,
but finds three cents too little: "I will not bother."
Over 1,000
plastic bottles and cans so far, or about 42 a day, have been
recycled at the Admiralty trial since its launch last month. ST
observed that the machine does get jammed up occasionally as
consumers feed multiple items at a time and incorrectly insert the
items such that the barcode cannot be read.
But winning
over consumers is only half the battle. Incon Green will have to
also persuade firms to lease or buy the machines - which cost over
US$10,000 (S$13,500) each. Mr Lee is willing to lease out his
machine for a free trial of one to three months. He is targeting
organisations that want to do their part for the environment.
Housewife Wu
Xian, 36, said she would use the machines if they are located
conveniently. The same goes for undergraduate Tay De Wei, 22: "The
main thing is convenience, I don't need to be incentivised."
The National
Environment Agency said it welcomes ground-up initiatives that
promote the segregation and recycling of recyclables, including
reverse vending machines. Last year, about 1.7 million tonnes of
waste was disposed of by the domestic sector. Packaging waste,
including drink cans and bottles, made up about one-third of this
amount - enough to fill more than 1,000 Olympic-size swimming
pools.