--- title: "Man brings plastic bottle on 2-week Taiwan holiday, recycles it in S’pore after returning" url: "/trending-now/man-brings-plastic-bottle-2-week-taiwan-holiday-recycles-it-spore-after-returning" published: "2026-10-24T06:23:26.000Z" updated: "2026-10-24T06:38:50.000Z" section: "Trending Now" authors: ["Ethel Tseng"] tags: ["bcrs","holiday","Taiwan","singapore","return","RECYCLING","plastic","TNP News"] --- # Man brings plastic bottle on 2-week Taiwan holiday, recycles it in S’pore after returning *A traveller who brought a plastic bottle on a two-week trip to Taiwan went to great lengths to bring it back to Singapore and recycle it through the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS).* A traveller who brought a plastic bottle on a two-week trip to Taiwan went to great lengths to bring it back to Singapore and recycle it through the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS). Paul Lee, 32-year-old director of Singapore-based plastic recycling and education company PLASTIFY, told Stomp that he had embarked on the Taiwan trip in August to visit family members. At the airport, he bought a bottle of water and was reminded of an Instagram reel by German content creator Liam Carpenter, who shared a similar video bringing a plastic bottle to Poland before returning to Germany to recycle it through the country’s deposit return system. Inspired by the idea, Lee decided to film his own version over the course of his trip. ## Bottle becomes unlikely companion on 2-week trip In a viral post shared on PLASTIFY’s Instagram page on Oct 22, Lee comically straps the plastic bottle in an empty seat next to him and thinks twice about tossing it into a recycling bin. ![man brings plastic bottle on 2-week trip to taiwan](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/stomp/57c2b701ddfefd44aa0aaf88d9d9672ee49f4443b29e8044f04852036c2f9500) Subsequent clips show him dragging the bottle by a leash, strapping it into a blood pressure monitor, and bringing it to iconic attractions in Taiwan. Even when the bottle lies on its side on the seat next to him, Lee notices and promptly sets it upright. After returning to Singapore, he deposits the bottle at a Return Right machine on Oct 18. Asked what prompted him to create the post, Lee said: “I thought it would be a fun way to encourage more Singaporeans to think about recycling, using a little humour to get the message across.” He explained that his company, PLASTIFY, recycles plastic waste into furniture and conducts educational workshops on plastic recycling. Describing the BCRS scheme as an “interesting step” towards encouraging recycling in Singapore, Lee added that it may take time for the public to be accustomed to the new initiative and for its full impact to be seen. “From a recycling perspective, having the bottles and cans collected separately can help improve the quality of materials recovered for recycling,” he said. The BCRS is a national recycling and container refund programme, which was fully rolled out on Oct 1. Under the scheme, consumers pay an extra 10 cents for each eligible drink purchased, and can reclaim the deposit by returning the empty container through a Return Right machine. ## Netizens amused at post Lee’s post garnered over 665,000 views and 27,400 likes, as netizens left amused reactions in the comments section. He also tagged Visit Singapore, a global tourism site for the Republic, which replied in the comments: “... welcome home?” Others joked that the bottle “had a great vacation” and was a “solid travel buddy”. Several also shared similar experiences. “My gal went India with 10 bottles and she took back all for recycle,” another commented.