Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Plastics and Packaging

Mandatory Packaging Reporting

Mandatory Packaging Reporting

Obligated producers are required to submit information on the packaging they produce or import into Singapore each year under the framework of the MPR Scheme, accompanied by a 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) plan to reduce packaging. This scheme serves a dual purpose: promoting the benefits, and motivating companies to reduce packaging usage. The comprehensive packaging data collected will play a crucial role in shaping future policies and programmes on the efficient management of packaging waste, including through EPR.

Obligated Producers

Companies mandated to comply with the EPR scheme are producers supplying regulated goods in Singapore who:

1. Import regulated goods with specified packaging

2. Use specified packaging for the regulated goods (including the retailer)

3.  Have an annual turnover exceeding S$10 million.

Regulated goods include all items except those specifically prescribed as excluded (ie arms and explosives, machines, equipment, appliances, or other devices designed solely for industrial or manufacturing usage and any spare parts, lifts or escalators, sports or recreation equipment, aircrafts, spacecrafts, vessels, and motor vehicles).

Packaging Items Covered

Packaging items to be reported include all types of packaging, either composed of a mono-material or a combination of materials. Packaging used for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) are also covered by the MPR scheme. However, exceptions apply to:

Bulk packaging

That is designed to facilitate bulk transportation, and

Reused packaging

Which remain in the company's possession to be reused and those designed to be reused by an end-user. Exception applies to food/beverage, vitamin/health supplement, medicinal product, cosmetic product, any personal care or hygiene product, detergent or cleaning agent product packaging.

Mechanism of Implementation

Bulk packaging

That is designed to facilitate bulk transportation

Reused packaging

Which remain in the company's possession to be reused and those designed to be reused by an end-user. Exceptions apply to food/beverages, vitamins/health supplements, medicinal products, cosmetic products, any personal care or hygiene products, detergent or cleaning agent product packaging.

Implementation Mechanism

Compliance with the scheme is performed through the actions outlined below. 

1. Registration: Obligated companies need to register in the Waste and Resource Management System (WRMS) MPR portal.

2. Submission of annual reports: For every year in which the company meets the criteria, it has to submit a report on the specified packaging imported or used during the entire year, complemented with the methodology used in recording the material, weight, and form of specified packaging.

3. Submission of a 3R plan for packaging: Companies are required to formulate and submit 3R plans for their packaging, with a three-year implementation timeline from the submission year. The 3R plan is based on any of the following plans: 

   1. Packaging reduction

   2. Collection for reuse

   3. Collection for recycling

   4. Consumer outreach

   5. Industry outreach

   6. Use of recycled content in packaging material

   7. Improving recyclability of packaging.

Implementation Timeline

The diagram below illustrates the implementation timeline of Singapore’s MPR Scheme.

Targets

There are no targets set in the MPR Scheme.

Incentives and Penalties

Companies which fail to submit a specified packaging report, submit a 3R plan, provide incomplete or inaccurate submissions as per the agency's direction, or keep inadequate records, are subject to the following penalties.

Beverage Container Return Scheme

Beverage Container Return Scheme

The beverage container return scheme represents the first phase of an EPR strategy for packaging waste in Singapore, building upon the MPR Scheme. Set to launch in 2025, the scheme has undergone public consultation since September 2022 and passed into law in the Resource Sustainability (Amendment) Bill 2023 Part 4B. Although it is still in development, some information on the scheme has been disclosed. 

Obligated Producers

The beverage container return scheme is mandatory for all producers of pre-packaged beverages who supply beverages in Singapore.

Packaging Items Covered

The scheme aims to increase the recycling rate and reduce the amount of waste of all pre-packaged beverages, both in plastic bottles and metal cans, with sizes ranging from 150 millilitres to 3 litres.

Implementation Mechanism

The beverage container return scheme will be implemented by applying a refundable deposit of 10 cents on all pre-packaged beverages in Singapore, together with existing recycling initiatives such as the National Recycling Programme. The deposit will be circulated from beverage producers, scheme operators, designated return points, consumers, retailers, and then back to the producers. 

Implementation starts with beverage producers registering with a licenced scheme operator. Each beverage product supplied by the producers needs to be affixed with a deposit mark and listed to the scheme operator, forming the basis for calculating the deposit provided by producers. 

Upon purchase, consumers pay the 10 cents deposit, which will be refunded upon returning the container waste to designated return points. Most of these return points will be located in large supermarkets which serve as the major sales channels of pre-packaged beverages. 

Scheme operators, on behalf of producers, collect the empty beverage containers and transfer them to recyclers for recycling then circulated back into the value chain. The financial cost of this process (collection and recycling) is borne by producers, while any profits made by recyclers (material revenue) are paid back to the scheme operator.

Implementation Timeline

The implementation timeline for Singapore’s beverage container return scheme is not yet defined, but is expected to commence in 2025.

Targets

There are no targets defined under the beverage container return scheme.

Incentives and Penalties

Fines are levied on beverage producers who fail to adhere to the scheme, as a component of law enforcement. The table below outlines the penalties imposed for each offence.

Roles and Responsibilities

Product and financial flows

Updated as of 21 March 2024.