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Coffee Shops, Hawker Centres and Food Courts Participating in Return Right F&B Scheme
Speakers: Chua Kheng Wee Louis, Dennis Tan Lip Fong, Grace Fu Hai Yien
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what criteria does the NEA apply in granting exemptions from the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) deposit, such as for the Singapore Grand Prix; and (b) whether (i) eligibility for exemption from the BCRS or (ii) inclusion into the Return Right F&B Scheme for dine-in outlets will be extended to select locations such as airport transit areas.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how many coffeeshops, hawker centres and food courts currently participate in the Return Right F&B Scheme; (b) whether the Ministry has assessed the effectiveness of operator-led collection and return arrangements in increasing beverage container return rates and reducing inconvenience to diners; and (c) if so, whether it will consider requiring larger food and beverage premises to participate in such arrangements.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: This response addresses Question Nos 19 and 20 on today's Order Paper.
The Return Right Food and Beverage (F&B) Scheme (RRFS) is open to all F&B operators that hold a valid licence from the Singapore Food Agency, have dine-in arrangements and sell beverages regulated under the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS). Under RRFS, participating F&B outlets bear the cost of the deposits on BCRS-regulated beverages sold and consumed at their premises, and retain the empty beverage containers without charging customers the deposit.
Close to 3,000 F&B outlets are participating in RRFS. These include food courts and restaurants located in airport transit areas. Coffee shops and hawker stalls currently form a small minority of the participating outlets.
For the 2026 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, the event organiser and its permitted F&B operators were treated the same as the RRFS outlets with the exemption from having to collect the deposit from consumers. They were required to pay the 10-cent deposit to their beverage suppliers. Similar to the arrangements at RRFS outlets, the event organiser also put in place a system for patrons to return their beverage containers for recycling.
As the scheme has just been fully implemented on 1 October 2026, it is still too early to gauge the overall effectiveness of operator-led collection and return arrangements. The National Environment Agency will consider applying RRFS to other large-scale events if they are able to comply with the conditions.