Singapore has officially unveiled a new automated sorting facility in Tuas as its Beverage Container Return Scheme moves toward full implementation on October 1.

More than 33 million bottles and cans have already been returned through around 1,300 reverse vending machines, with TOMRA Collection among the network operators.

The 2,000 sq m Tuas facility, operated by Cora Environment, was designed by Nordic Recycling Systems, which also sourced the equipment for the installation.

Automated sorting

The automated line combines overhead cameras and robotic arms for bag handling, magnets for steel cans, eddy current separation for aluminium, screening and air separation for caps and labels, and NIR optical sorting for clear PET, coloured PET, HDPE and PP.

The facility can process up to 45 tonnes per day. A plastic bottle takes around 30 minutes to travel through the system from feeding to baling.

“It has taken an extended ecosystem to bring to life efforts to create a more circular economy,” said Stephanie Yip, CEO of BCRS Ltd.

The Singapore model connects reverse vending, collection logistics and automated sorting to create a dedicated stream of beverage containers for recycling.

Once fully operational, the scheme is expected to recover more than 1 billion beverage containers and over 16,000 tonnes of material annually.