Over 2,000 apply for BCRS grace period; 85% of processed applications approved: NEA
Over 2,000 owners of neighbourhood convenience stores, family-run provision shops, and non-profit organisations (NPO) have applied for a grace period — till Oct 31 — to clear their remaining stock of non-Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) labelled beverages.Providing an update on Tuesday (Sept 29) after applications opened on Sept 18, the National Environment Agency (NEA) stated that it has received over 2,000 applications as of 9am on Sept 29.It added that the applications were mostly from smaller retailers such as provision shops, neighbourhood convenience stores, and standalone food shops."We have approved around 85 per cent of the over 1,600 applications processed so far. NEA is expediting the processing of the remaining applications, which are mainly those which were recently submitted," it said.Explaining how it reviews the applications, NEA said it takes into account various factors.