RETURN RIGHT for the Beverage Container Return Scheme
Brand Strategy + Identity
Naming
Brand Architecture
01 Overview
If you’re not from Singapore, it might shock you to know that we’re not big on recycling. Unlike our East Asian neighbours or far-flung Scandi counterparts, the country was only beginning to introduce its first nationwide deposit-return scheme for drink containers.
Practice Theory was engaged for the brand strategy, naming, and design for the launch of Singapore’s Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS). As the lead brand strategist, I shaped its public-facing narrative, developed audience profiles, and helped create a name that could communicate its purpose at a national scale.
02 Define
Through extensive qualitative and quantitative research (in partnership with Blackbox), we uncovered a familiar contradiction: Singaporeans understood the importance of recycling, but rarely walked the talk. We, and the generations before us, weren’t taught to sort or waste. And what even happens to our bottles once we deposit them in a magical machine that dispenses cash? Previous (cheesy) government campaigns weren’t working, and the average Singaporean’s knowledge around the local recycling process was revealed to be spotty at best. Above all... it’s just soooo inconvenient! So how might we create, engage and influence a culture of individual and shared responsibility around recycling in Singapore?
03 DEFINE
Understanding the cognitive dissonance between intent and action gave us an opportunity to reposition recycling as a simple and impactful act of personal agency rather than inconvenience. This allowed us to reframe the act of recycling from material exchange into one of ownership. From the decision to bring a bottle home, rising it, and storing them for future deposit, recycling consists of many deliberate decisions. Similarly, the opaque process of recycling isn’t a one-and-done deal. The messaging for BCRS had to both restore clarity and foster a sense of control and personal responsibility.
For Singaporeans who feel beholden to institutional compliance, especially when systems feel opaque, transactional, or profit-driven, and possess knowledge gaps and conflicting priorities around convenience, BCRS returns clarity to promote individual agency so eveyone understands and feels they have a real stake in what happens to their trash.
04 EXECUTION
The name, RETURN RIGHT, was conceptualised as a simple, action-oriented statement. Transforming "return" into a verb, RETURN RIGHT reframed recycling from an act of disposal into one of participation, emphasising both the continued value of materials and the individual's role within a circular economy. Due to the scale of the scheme, I also had to define its brand architecture across its different stakeholders. This meant clarifying how BCRS (the scheme operator), RETURN RIGHT (the public-facing initiative), and the National Environmental Agency (the governing authority) would operate together while maintaining distinct roles.
To support the scheme's emphasis on participation, our visual identity visualises the circular economy in action. For the scheme’s logo, interconnected arrows symbolise closing the loop between consumer behaviour and reuse, transforming an abstract concept into a recognisable public symbol. Central to the identity is a grid system built out of the idea that one small action can lead to big impact. This also allows for a cohesive way to present key communication elements such as graphics, frames, icons, and illustrations.
RETURN RIGHT’s accessible identity extends seamlessly across over 2,000 Reverse Vending Machines, signages, and communication touchpoints, creating a unified and approachable experience at a national scale. The scheme has been officially rolled out since April 2026.