Recently, a man in Singapore took to Facebook to share his observation that cans and plastic bottles deposited at a recycling machine in Bedok Mall were “dumped”.
Source: Jack Chng on Facebook
The man attributed the claim to an “uncle” who was clearing the machine. He apparently also said that the recycling company responsible for collecting the cans and bottles had “gone bust”.
Bedok Mall has since refuted the claims, stating that the bottles and cans continue to be collected by its “recycling vendor”.
On Thursday (13 June), Mr Jack Chng took to the Complaint Singapore Facebook group to share the observations he made at the Basement 2 level of Bedok Mall.
In his post, Mr Chng claimed that the cans and bottles were “dumped” instead of being recycled.
He further accused the initiative of being misleading and that the Recycle N Save machine was “just for show”.
“And I thought I’ve been ‘saving the earth’ all this while,” Mr Chng wrote.
For the uninitiated, Recycle N Save machines are part of the National Environmental Agency (NEA) and Fraser & Neave’s (F&N) joint initiative to encourage Singaporeans to lead an eco-conscious lifestyle.
They are also known as smart Reverse Vending Machines (RVM).
Source: Jack Chng on Facebook
Speaking to MS News, Mr Chng said he spotted an uncle, whom he believes to be employed by the mall, emptying the RVM’s contents into a large “rubbish skip”.
The encounter occurred at about 4pm on Thursday (13 June).
As the pair conversed, the man allegedly told Mr Chng that the contents were “headed for the dump”.
In his post, Mr Chng said the man mentioned the recycling company had “gone bust” and that it is no longer collecting cans and bottles.
Mr Chng told MS News that he had seen the machine at Bedok Mall for the past five to six years and has been depositing aluminium cans into the machine regularly.
He also highlighted that the machine used to reward individuals with incentives such as ActiveSG.
In a follow-up post on Saturday (15 June) morning, Mr Chng shared pictures showing a message displayed on the machine: “Saving the Earth is my Reward!”.
Source: Jack Chng on Facebook
A Bedok Mall spokesperson refuted Mr Chng’s claims, in response to queries from MS News.
The representative said that plastic bottles and drink cans are collected from the RVM at Bedok Mall on a daily basis.
These items are then sent to a designated recycling area at the mall.
The spokesperson also shared that Bedok Mall’s recycling vendor collect the recyclables twice a week for “further processing”.
Also read: 8 Things S’poreans Throw Into Recycle Bins That Aren’t Supposed To Be There
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Featured image adapted from Jack Chng on Facebook.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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