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Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment
Parliament Q&A

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Failed BCRS Refund Transactions

8 September 2026

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on failed BCRS refund transactions by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.

Questions:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment since the Beverage Container Return Scheme's launch (a) how many complaints have been received regarding refund failures; (b) what is the average resolution time for such complaints; and (c) whether automated refund crediting can be considered.

Mr Alex Yeo: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) since 1 April 2026, what is the (i) number and (ii) proportion of failed deposit refund transactions at Return Right machines; (b) what is the (i) median and (ii) longest time taken to complete a manual refund; and (c) whether any licence or contractual standard governs (i) refund transaction success rates or (ii) manual refund turnaround times.

Answer:

The response to this question also addresses a related Parliamentary Question on failed deposit refund transactions filed by Mr Alex Yeo for the Sitting on or after 9 September.

In the first five months of the Return Right Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS), 95% of the 3.5 million transactions at the Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) were refunded on the spot.

For the remaining transactions, the scheme operator, BCRS Ltd., has committed to refunding the deposits within 30 days upon receiving the information required to process the claim. The time is needed to establish the validity of the claim and reconcile transaction records while guarding against fraudulent refund requests. As the scheme was launched only a few months ago, more time had been taken on a handful of cases, even as BCRS Ltd. actively improves their workflow.

BCRS Ltd. is required to ensure that refunds are made for all valid transactions. The National Environment Agency (NEA) is closely monitoring the rates of failed transactions at the RVMs and the refunds made by BCRS Ltd.. We will track BCRS Ltd.’s detailed performance metrics as the scheme’s operations stabilise.