SMF Secretary-General Visits TOMRA Resource Centre
Exploring the Future of Waste Management
SMF Secretary-General Mr Lawrence Pek and the SMF Sustainability Task Force secretariat staff visited TOMRA’s newly opened Resource Centre at Ang Mo Kio today (19 July 2022).
The visit to TOMRA was to gain a better understanding of the mechanism and behind-the-scenes operation of a reverse vending machine. This is very much in line with the upcoming Deposit Refund Scheme, which will be implemented next year.
The Deposit Refund Scheme encourages the take-back and recycling of packaging waste, such as plastic bottles and aluminium cans. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), this scheme has been implemented in many countries such as Norway, Sweden and Germany, achieving a high recycling rate of beverage containers of over 80 per cent.
The SMF thanks Bing Zhao, VP, Head of Asia for TOMRA for the tour and for sharing how the implementation of a reverse vending machine can help Singapore reduce packaging waste.