A Facebook user has posted a video showing a man apparently exploiting a beverage container return machine’s recognition system by scanning a bottle eligible for a deposit refund, then inserting a different container. Another user subsequently tested the same method, raising questions about a possible loophole in the system.
The original video, posted on Sunday (8 November), shows a man in an orange uniform scanning a bottle eligible for a deposit refund, then taking other containers from a rubbish bag beside him and putting them into the machine. It is not possible to determine from the video whether the other containers are eligible for refunds.
After watching the video, another user tested a return machine for a possible loophole and uploaded a video of his test to the Facebook group “SG News Warehouse Sale & Events” on Monday (9 November).
In his post, he said he had scanned a plastic bottle eligible for a deposit refund, then withdrawn it and paused for about two seconds, only to find that the machine’s conveyor belt was still running. He questioned whether this meant the machine might accept any container inserted afterwards, regardless of its eligibility for a refund.
The two videos have drawn attention, with some users questioning whether a loophole in the machines’ recognition system allows ineligible containers to be accepted.
Lianhe Zaobao has sent queries to Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS), the non-profit organisation responsible for managing the Beverage Container Return Scheme.
